employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

Student Experts

Is this your company?

Student Experts reviews

3.7

71% would recommend to a friend

(14 total reviews)

JoEllen Lowry

100% approve of CEO

49% positive business outlook

Reviews by job title

14 reviews
2.0
Jan 29, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

When I started working at SE under the previous CEO, the company was well-run and employees really were hired full-time and given amazing benefits (including exceptional healthcare). Now, however, it seems like they only advertise for contract positions, so you're not ever going to actually see those amazing healthcare plans. I live out of state and was able to work remotely, which, while it wasn't ideal for me, is great for some people. Flexible hours—as long as you finish you work by midnight and show up via Skype for a weekly meeting, you can work whatever hours you want.

Cons

As a remote employee, I felt very distant from the company as a whole. They had a great environment in the office, which I visited once, but overall, I felt hugely left out. The only person who ever worked to improve on that no longer works there, so I'm sure it's still an issue for remote workers. When the new CEO came in, the entire atmosphere of the business changed. Tyler made us feel valued; Dean made me feel like a child. The atmosphere went from encouraging to threatening at weekly meetings, and I, along with most other full-time writers, was eventually laid off to save them money on benefits. Now they hire contract workers with a promise of full-time work that rarely manifests in reality, from what I hear. Also, the workload is insane and time-consuming. Whereas most people who work eight hours a day don't actually WORK for a full eight hours, this company demands it. I was a good writer and a lot of challenging clients liked me, so therefore I got harder work writing for repeat clients with no benefits whatsoever.

1.0
Apr 7, 2013

Not even worth it.

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great experience for a resume Interesting clients Gorgeous office

Cons

Unrealistic (and borderline delusional) productivity expectations Way too much favoritism Zero job security for full-timers - little interest in keeping them for more than 90 days (when they become eligible for benefits) Full-time offers are really just bait to get people to sign up and get scammed Some editors miss 2nd-grade grammar and punctuation mistakes Editing guidelines are not consistently enforced - a mistake that's "no big deal" one day puts you on the chopping block the next Incompetent, unprofessional and unpredictable senior management

2.0
May 25, 2013

A Company Grasping for the Unattainable

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Student Experts seems to have begun with a great vision--one that aimed to foster college students' transition from the world of academia to the professional world. For a while, it was good. The company took the idea of an "open door" policy and ran with it, creating an environment where employees felt like they were a part of something meaningful, and more than just cogs in a machine. The company gave qualified students an opportunity to build experience, develop skills, make a living wage, and work in a company that was the model of what every startup wants to be. One of Student Experts biggest strengths is the lax atmosphere within its walls. With ample space, flexible hours, a kitchen stocked with gourmet food, craft beer, and plenty of coffee and beverage options, you'll be hard-pressed to find a more comfortable work atmosphere. The office is beautiful, well-lit, has a lovely view of the mountains, and somehow makes cubical life comfortable. A notable strength that must be underscored at Student Experts is the healthcare offered to every salaried employee. You don't pay a dime out of pocket, and this is a luxury offered by few companies these days. The plan is more than suitable for the young crowd of employees at SE, and is one thing that will keep you there long after you may wish to move on with your professional life. Starting compensation for full-time staff is very reasonable considering skill expectations. The editors do a lot of the heavy lifting, and key writers who have been with the company for years are capable of keeping the workload in check most days. This leaves more room for the company to test new writers, who with a decent comprehension of grammar, tone, and research (as well as the ability to follow a style guide) can easily make it onto the staff. However, if you can't take feedback (and you shouldn't consider yourself a writer if you can't), this isn't the right career path for you.

Cons

The biggest problem with this company lies within the inability of the management to see its own missteps, miscalculations, and wastefulness. Beyond this, there is a strong culture of favoritism in which some employees have been hired not based on merit and skill, but because they know the management or rubbed someone the right way despite lacking applicable experience. While this approach to hiring may create a staff of brand and management loyalists--certainly a strength in the early stages of a company--it has led Student Experts into a pit of inter-employee resentment, wasteful spending, and dysfunction. Definition of roles, responsibilities, and expectations should have happened years ago. Compensation is another area of discontent. What appears to be an across-the-board freeze on raises has been in place for entirely too long, and its end has been defined by vague parameters the company may never reach. It is difficult to defend such a freeze when "chosen" staff receives compensation beyond its worth while other employees the company depends on to generate revenue continue to meet resistance any time the topic of compensation is raised. One of the key problems at Student Experts fueling the fire of unhappiness is that the management does not understand these issues and is unwilling to entertain the possibility that failure (at least with the existing staff) is a very real possibility if these problems are not addressed. Student Experts is not the hip, casual, and kindhearted company it once was, and is instead transforming into an out-of-touch machine that overlooks talent, sets morale-crushing expectations, and seems to fires at will without justification.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 14 Reviews

Glassdoor has 17 Student Experts reviews submitted anonymously by Student Experts employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Student Experts is right for you.