33 Universal Reviews

Cons

High quota requirement and not great pay. The company has transitioned to more of a text farm than a publication for original reporting.

Cons

If you're considering working here, do me a favor and answer me this: Who is the CEO?

Give up? The employees don't know either. This is hands-down the most shady "media" company (linked to IBT Media) you'll ever encounter. They're basically slave drivers, all about getting hits, but you won't see an extra dime for your efforts, whether you get 100k hits or 1 million. You'll be paid the same horrific, barely livable salary with a joke of insurance, no benefits, no paid vacations, no days off, and no holidays, until you croak or the company does.

Most employees are young, fresh out of school and desperate for work. They've never heard of 33 Universal or its many sites, but they're decent writers and in need of a paycheck. That's where they get you. They fire people left and right for the most insipid things, the president is insane and constantly trying to push his ultra-conservative agenda in the office and on the websites, and people have been known to quit after ONE. DAY.

This company has been getting worse, if that's possible. For all of the years I worked there, I never received one bonus, one acknowledgment of my hard work, or one paid vacation. Nada. That's because it doesn't exist. You are merely a typing machine to them, and if you break down or refuse to work, they'll replace you with another nervous, wide-eyed, fresh out of undergrad/grad school kid within days.

Cons

Soul sucking. Turning press releases into articles.

Cons

They pretend the job is "journalism." It's just a way to sell advertisements. Completely SEO based. No original reporting going on, unless it's on your own terms. NO health benefits. NO paid time off. You have to work holidays. You're basically a slave. They pay you NOTHING. There is NO way to move up. I would give most of the points below negative stars if possible. Anyone right out of school, stay away from this place. It looks awful on your resume and it'll get you into bad grammar/style habits. They don't care about that here.

Cons

The company is a front for the Cult of David Jang and Olivet "university" in California. Just google that sentence and read the Medium.com article, and others, for further damning proof.

A total absence of ethics, morals, respect for employees, empathy, trust, transparency, or anything remotely related to journalism.

Consistently having your job threatened.

Zero chance of ever receiving a raise or promotion.

Working 6 days a week, every week, without holidays or vacation time.

No overtime pay.

Managment constantly resets quotas and raises expectations to deliberately unrealistic standards in order to cheat you out of "bonuses" and promotions.

Overt lies from level of management, including the only remotely positive reviews on this page.

What employee rationalizes such objectively terrible experiences and apologizes for such draconian, moronic management? Is this the cult Kool-Aid or bad job PTSD talking? Neither. It's just the cult's minions doing their solemn duty to their all-powerful master.

Cons

After I fled this job -- as a lot of people do once they're there for longer than a few weeks -- I didn't think I'd look back. But, I just Googled it out of curiosity, saw this site and looked into it and saw a couple of suspicious new positive reviews I had to respond to here.

I'm still in touch with a few people who haven't been able to leave yet (even though they really wish they could but haven't found other jobs and are stuck), and they say though there is finally some medical insurance, it's totally worthless. Surprise.

The whole "religious" thing is pretty shady. There's plenty of articles online that go into it and better do your homework before you sign on here.

The "we're just a start-up" line is cute, but they've been around for a few years now, so that's no reason to treat their employees as horribly as they do.

Best advice is to check it out for yourself. As soon as you walk in, you'll see it's all pretty weird. Nice building, but odd folks and everyone is so miserable. For good reason.

Cons

Leadership is young and inexperienced. Everything is very shady. The company serves to finance some Korean cult. Try to avoid! It definitely won't help your CV.

Cons

I wish there was a clearer way to grow in the company with raises and promotions.

Cons

There is a big focus on traffic, which can sometimes take away from the content, but I understand that every newspaper needs readership. So I can't really complain.

Cons

33 Universal, its partners and sites (Ibt Times, Newsweek, Latin Post, Latinos Post, Music Times, Design Times, Fashion Times, etc.) might look like the nadir of Buzzfeed clickbait styled "journalism," but it's even worse than it seems: the sites are actually all a moneymaking venture for the South Korean cult of David Jang and Olivet "University" in California. Just Google Search: "David Jang" + "33 universal" + "cult" and find out for yourself.

Don't believe a word the company tries to sell you, you're nothing more than a typing machine covered in skin to them. You will never receive a raise here. You will work six days a week, every week, without overtime. You will work every holiday (christmas, thanksgiving, new years, July 4) unless you use your "vacation time," which at every other company would be referred to as "federal holidays." You will write about the latest Selena Gomez album, tie in Justin Bieber's name for keywording's sake, you will source the article from 5 different equally terrible websites, and you will LIKE it dammit.