Pros
The employees were awesome and I have kept many people as friends since I left the company. It offers a fun and casual work environment. I've known many people who had left the company for a period of time, but then returned to work at Getty again. I think this is indicative of a good company when ex-employees are willing to return. The Seattle office is modern and is located in Fremont, which is a great neighborhood. Stock photography is a cool and great product to support and Getty continues to be in the forefront in creating innovative products. They offer a good healthcare/benefits package.
Cons
The workload was chaotic at times due to on-going layoffs and the salary was mediocre. Management was not always supportive of professional growth or nurturing career advancement, but that may not be the case for all departments. Unfortunately, due to the niche industry, it has been difficult to seek work elsewhere because other employers do not understand how stock photography is transferrable to their industry. In this current job market, many employers are wanting relateable industry experience and unless they're familiar with Getty or stock, they tend to view the company as just a regular photography company. Although I understand the economic climate, Getty's reasons for laying off people or entire departments weren't always well thought out. The CEO even admitted that one of his biggest regrets was laying off an entire group where he lost a lot of industry knowledge. Parking in the building is $80/mo, unless you're willing to scour the city streets for parking each morning. They try to encourage being green, for example, riding your bike to work or offering free or discounted bus passes, but yet are not very supportive of telecommuting or flexible work hours.
