Pros: The company is really awesome. So are most of the employees working at Epic. I loved the certification process that was used to ramp you up on an application. And the CEO, Judy, seems very well-intentioned and has a sense of humor very familiar to Math and CS people. In my opinion, she is the perfect example of "lead by example". The city of Madison and the Epic campus are amazing places too. You'll feel in love with them.

Cons: I felt that the certification process and the self-study were not sufficient for a good ramping into an efficient employee. More guidance at the beginning could go a long way.

Pros: Wonderful work environment. The new campus is awesome, but many employees are not located there and feel overlooked. You feel like you are doing important work. Super-nice co-workers. There are some very smart and driven people who work there who really care about the work that they do. They are the undoubted industry leader, and their commitment to go above and beyond for their customers is exemplary. Epic has grown significantly over the last few years, and I don't see that abating any time soon. Privately owned, which allows for a lot of flexibility in setting the company's direction. Judy has truly been a visionary in the industry and is very well respected and liked by everyone.

Cons: Technology is 20th century, not a good place to advance your technical skills. Even though there are plenty of smart people, the average techie can't hold a candle to a Microsoft or Google developer. Some people who work there are really below average. I can imagine that given the location (limited talent pool) and the brutal winter weather, Madison isn't exactly the Bay Area. Management structure hasn't kept up with growth, which is natural for a company that has grown so fast. There seems to be a reluctance to have some decentralized control, but that should improve as time goes on.

Pros: The food is legitimately great.

Cons: Management continued to string us along week by week from March 2020 to August 2020 in regards to having to work on campus. Had there not been leaks from certain employees which caused media backlash, we would have certainly been forced to work on campus. However, the WFH policy still makes no sense. We are required to stay in Madison even though we are working remotely. The justification for this is "in case we need to go into the office," which is just silly, since every team has been able to manage their work remotely without the need to ever come into the office. Raises and bonuses are based on a ranking system that grades you among your peers. This would be fine except for the fact that the rank you get is intentionally obfuscated. You will be unable to get your grade no matter how hard you try. The best you'll be able to do is a vague, generic set of phrases such as "meeting expectations" or "meeting some, exceeding some," etc. The reasoning you'll be given is that they don't want to make coworkers "feel bad." Lackluster benefits: most people don't stay on for 5 years to qualify for the paid sabbatical. Keep in mind, even if you do qualify for the sabbatical, it can still get denied. If you are considering being a Software Developer, I strongly urge you to look for a different company that either pays better or tries harder to care for its employees.