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Pearson Employee Reviews about "upper management"

Updated Nov 2, 2021

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Found 7,789 of over 8K reviews
3.8
73% Recommend to a Friend
Pearson CEO Andy Bird
78% Approve of CEO

Found 211 of over 8K reviews

3.8
73%
Recommend to a Friend
78%
Approve of CEO
Pearson CEO Andy Bird
Andy Bird
1,055 Ratings

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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment

Pros
  • "Most people at Pearson are great to work with and want to do the right thing.(in 670 reviews)
  • "Good benefits when your employer doesn't actually have an issue when you use it.(in 643 reviews)
  • "They also offer flexible work from home options and summer Friday's which is a HUGE perk.(in 271 reviews)
  • "Good work life balance in the sales department of school and higher education but not in other areas(in 255 reviews)
  • "I had great boss and colleagues(in 167 reviews)
Cons
  • "Management was poor and unfair at times(in 289 reviews)
  • "low pay; usually never hear from anyone in the company unless you do something wrong(in 253 reviews)
  • "Low salary and hard(in 200 reviews)
  • "Massive layoffs and reorganizations year over year over year.(in 158 reviews)
  • "and most managers don't think deeply enough about what they really need.(in 149 reviews)
Pros & Cons are excerpts from user reviews. They are not authored by Glassdoor.

Ratings by Demographics

This rating reflects the overall rating of Pearson and is not affected by filters.

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Reviews about "upper management"

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211
  1. 3.0
    Former Employee, more than 8 years

    Big company with many units

    Jan 12, 2015 - Senior Editor in Glenview, IL
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Pearson has above average benefits, and many employees work in a low-stress environment. Many of the products developed at Pearson are done with concern for the end user/customer.

    Cons

    The company is very big, and some business units may not receive the funding necessary to develop industry leading products. Middle and upper management are resistant to bigger changes even though the company continuously undergoes reorganizations.

    Continue reading
    2 people found this review helpful
  2. 2.0
    Current Employee, more than 3 years

    Overworked and micromanaged

    May 23, 2016 - Project Manager in Boston, MA
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Gym discount, downtown office, nice cafeteria, good work/life balance and opportunity to work from home if you can get away with it (dependent on manager)

    Cons

    The Custom team is given more work than they have resources for. If you say you have too much to do, you're looked down on and treated horribly. The mentality is all work harder and faster with less resources or you'll get laid off. Upper management has a ridiculous amount of policies in place that micromanage workers and you're pressured to turn projects around so quickly.

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    1 person found this review helpful
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  4. 2.0
    Former Employee

    Not horrible

    Jun 14, 2017 - Anonymous Employee 
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    You can move up if you can handle working all the time and they have great benefits for employees.

    Cons

    A very confusing corporate structure and they are always restructuring. Very poor flow of information from upper management to lower employees and everything is steeped in secrecy. Very strange.

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    3 people found this review helpful
  5. 4.0
    Current Employee

    Excellent for Full-time

    May 15, 2012 - Associate Project Coordinator in Boston, MA
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    can work from home, great upper management, excellent work

    Cons

    contract workers are hit or miss: I had a project and lost it due to changes within upper management.

    Be the first to find this review helpful
  6. 3.0
    Former Employee, more than 3 years

    A Decent Place to Get Your Foot in the Door

    May 12, 2022 -  
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Great place to begin a career in EdTech Great PTO and benefits Remote work fully embraced, can work hybrid or in office if you choose

    Cons

    - The pay is under market rate with yearly raises on the lower side - Workload will increase the longer you stay, which often leads to the low pay as a big pain point - Upper Management is completely clueless to the work of the boots on the ground and interactions with them come off as inauthentic and cold. - Absolutely zero professional development and career progression within the company unless you apply outside of the CS department

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    Be the first to find this review helpful
  7. 2.0
    Current Employee, more than 1 year

    Be careful.

    Apr 13, 2017 - Associate Director of Recruitment 
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    It can be solid and steady job if you know what you are doing in this business, produce, and you are not looking for advancement opportunities. Training exists but many complain that the training is not applicable to the many unique circumstances and situations around each program nursed by Pearson.

    Cons

    Many employees are asked to engage with additional responsibilities without additional pay. Upper management in Chicago is a 'good ole boy' club with a culture and policies that extend from Career Education Corporation - a for profit education company that runs AIU. So, don't look for interest about the student as much as for the numbers. In fact, don't look for interest in employees either especially if you require support at your job as a 'PDP' will be heading your way soon. Remember, training is minimal at best. There are pockets of engaged staff and pockets of very toxic staff. If a job is available, it could be that you are headed for a toxic pool of complainers, conspiracy theorists, gossip addicts, and generally, people who are dissatisfied with their lives.

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    6 people found this review helpful
  8. 3.0
    Former Employee, more than 5 years

    Inconsistent Support and Leadership

    Sep 6, 2013 - Anonymous Employee 
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Working with educators, helping them and their students, selling high quality products and content

    Cons

    Upper management is insensitive to the needs of its salesforce and there are constant reorganizations. Morale is low, and industry is on decline. You are expected to be happy while not being recognized or compensated for your hard work. You are not supported if there is harassment.

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    4 people found this review helpful
  9. 1.0
    Current Employee, more than 5 years

    Big Corporation Thinking Mainly About Profits

    Jun 4, 2015 - Anonymous Employee in San Francisco, CA
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    One of the best things about this company is the people working in the trenches. Everyone is intelligent and goes above and beyond to get the job done. The health benefits are very good.

    Cons

    The President and upper management care more about profits and shareholders than providing the people actually doing to work the tools/software they need. The old data systems they use do not work together, are constantly breaking down, and almost every time they perform an update, something else goes wrong with at least one system. Most people who have worked there over 10 years have yet to receive a promotion or a raise. Employees are asked to do the work of two people, without monetary compensation.

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    3 people found this review helpful
  10. 1.0
    Current Employee, more than 10 years

    Would definately warn people if they were offered a job between Pearson and somewhere else then go somewhere else!!!

    Feb 8, 2013 - Anonymous Employee in Lebanon, IN
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Started out as a very good Company to work for. Ok pay, nice benefit package as far as vacation time, etc.

    Cons

    When Customer Service was in Columbus, Ohio I felt sorry for the people there losing there jobs as they opened Customer Service in Lebanon, Indiana and those people lost their jobs. Now, the folks in Lebanon, Indiana are beginning to lose their jobs. They don't keep the 'little people' informed of the bigger picture only Upper Management is really aware. Just like this deal with Pearson Education and IBM. I bet there were very few CSR's aware of everything that was starting to happen in 2002 with them.

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    4 people found this review helpful
  11. 1.0
    Former Employee, more than 8 years

    Run—don’t walk—away from this company if you are considering working here. It’s a sinking ship.

    Mar 16, 2018 - Anonymous Employee 
    Recommend
    CEO Approval
    Business Outlook

    Pros

    Pearson used to have a lot of pros. It was a great place to work until John Fallon became CEO.

    Cons

    Upper management is completely disorganized and has absolutely no clue how to move the company from book publishing into a digital product and services company. This is after at least four or five reorganizations in as many years, and massive, massive layoffs, which continue to this day. If there was an actual plan other than firing people and leaving those left behind to fend for themselves with extremely limited resources, I could understand “trimming the fat.” But there appears to be no end in sight. Management is completely disconnected from their employees . Students and their education used to matter here, but now it’s all about the shareholders. If you enjoy working in a pitifully low morale environment, and you like waiting for the next shoe to drop (your impending layoff), this is the place for you.

    Continue reading
    16 people found this review helpful
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