Eric Miller

It's hard to feel good about working here. The company is in full-on merger and acquisition mode, gobbling up other companies in the education-technology space. This, combined with a relentless sales push and cost-cutting, has many downsides for the employees and ultimately for the users of our products. - Volatile. Every few months the direction will change due to a new contract or a merger. This has been going on for quite a while and is unlikely to change unless the whole thing is "sold off", which seems to be the end goal. - Product last (users last). With all the focus on growth, there is no time to properly maintain, let alone improve the growing list of different products. All the focus is on quick-and-dirty integration and expansion, which causes technical debt to pile up at unsustainable rates. - Corporate mindset. Treating products as commodities to be upsold and re-sold, rather than investing in making them the best in the industry is truly a short-term strategy. And the leadership know it. - Disconnect. Most of us don't feel connected to the company and its goals. We don't feel wanted, or cared for. HR is actively exacerbating this, instead of mitigating it. - Crowded. The fact that each acquisition brings more staff means chances of career advancement are very small. Bottom line - when teachers struggle with their software in class, it can usually be traced back to the priorities and decisions set inside this company. And most of us feel powerless to help improve the products and the user experience.