Blackboard Reviews

Current Employee – been working at Blackboard full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Lots of cool products, well known in college circles. Very sharp people at a company that is poised to do some pretty amazing things in a rapidly changing industry, if it can scope out and invest in the right opportunities. Company has done a total 180 in the last 3 years in terms of improving customer service and openness about direction and operations. New CEO (Jay Bhatt) seems to be a real straight shooter...he's still pretty new only having been here about 4 months.

Cons – A little unstable right now in the wake of private equity takeover and change in leadership. Likely to be some portfolio changes as new leadership gets established. can be a little cliquish and outgoing Sr. Mgmt had a sophomoric party streak that was sometimes embarassing, at the least

Advice to Senior Management – Get to the cutting edge

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Blackboard as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Great community and great office perks (free soda using Blackboard products). Lots of opportunity to get involved in a variety of products.

Cons – Central management tends to get in the way of branches' initiative and there is a lot of overlap/redundancy between roles (leads to peer competition).

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Blackboard full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Java dev, amazing products and work culture

Cons – slow at times, takes up too many biz opportunities

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Blackboard full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Clean environment, Generally people are willing to work with you on issues if you approach them. Ratings are from when I worked there, 2011 and prior. The overall culture is good, people that work at Blackboard want to do good work and strive for excellence.

Cons – The top position needs doesn't always listen to the good people (VP's) that he has hired to guide him. Lately the environment has been toxic since Blackboard was taken private. I hear for every quarter that goals are not met that they will lay off more people. Sad.

Advice to Senior Management – Transact division president needs to be re-evaluated. It seems he is on the same track as he was when he worked in the Learn division which didn't work out so well.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Blackboard full-time

Pros – Health Benefits, 401k, and good work environment.

Cons – Too many changes to the company in such a short period of time which makes it confusing. Starting salaries seem to be a little lower than standard.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Blackboard full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Availability to work on the latest software/hardware, knowledgeable coworkers, decently flexible when it comes to work hours, free snacks and drinks, good benefits package inc. paid time off and health.

Cons – Drama, you have to be adept at avoiding it. There are people that will throw you right in front of and under the bus if you are not careful. Upper management also has an issue with keeping the workforce informed about company direction, goals, successes and failures.

Advice to Senior Management – Get better at keeping the workforce in tune with direction of the company. Nip the drama in the bud right when it starts instead of letting it continue; above all honesty is the best policy.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Blackboard full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – life balance, products, people, location

Cons – too many cuts in PD budget to be successful

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Blackboard full-time for more than a year

Pros – - True entrepreneurial spirit
- Great working atmosphere, good/fun loving people who works hard, everyone here puts in 110%
- Great manager (at least, my manager, cannot speak for others)
- Competitive benefits package
- The peace of mind that you're working for a well known, well established/not going anywhere soon company.

Cons – - BBMobile functions like a startup, for some people this is a good thing. If you like the high passed, change focus and start working on the next 'hotness', this place is good.
- Although BBMobile functions like a startup, there are times that you need to work beyond the 9-5 work day. A normal startup will make it up to you with bonuses, stock options, etc. Blackboard makes it up to you with stability.
- Blackboard's HQ is in DC, it's a 3000+ person organization with offices across the world. Coming from a startup, you'll quickly realize that there's a fair amount of red tape bureaucracy.
- BBMobile lacks profit sharing or any mentionable bonus program, however their salary range is competitive.

Advice to Senior Management – Blackboard Mobile suffers from the same ailments as any other Bay Area tech firm. There are some rock star managers and there are some who require retraining - however this is not the crux of the situation. The problem is isolating Blackboard's Washington DC corporate red tape Initech-like culture from destroying what you currently have.

To BB Mobile MGMT:
I cannot say enough positive things about BB Mobile's management. Ideally, in my next position, I'd love to bring my manager with me and continue working with him again. My only complaint with BB Mobile MGMT is that the current string of people leaving abruptly paints a bleak picture for all others.

To BB Corp MGMT:
Do one of two things, 1. Enable the San Francisco office to operate as their own entity without the restrictions of corporate policy/IT policy/etc or 2. Close down the SF office and absorb which into DC.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Blackboard full-time for less than a year

Pros – San Francisco downtown location.
Dorm room enviornment for fresh college grads with zero experience.
Smart engineers.

Cons – Selfish and conniving recruiter who only cared about making a commission.
No adult supervision and they refused to hire managers.
Only friends of founders were considered for promotions.
Insecure coworkers would do anything to throw you in front of a bus.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Blackboard full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – The company is focused on the education sector allowing you to earn a living while contributing to an important need. While not exactly nimble, Blackboard is able to move pretty quickly to address customer needs and is greatly improving in this are along with customer service over the last few years.

Good culture. Great benefits. Flexible work arrangements and strong professional relationship opportunities.

Cons – If you're not located in DC, it's difficult to break into the "upper layers" of management.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company