Epic Systems

Pros and cons depend on your perspective.

It’s not for everyone, but for those who enjoy it, like me, it really takes off.

Yes, the work week isn’t typical. It’s not a structured environment. As a result, your hours may swing. You may find yourself in uncomfortable situations. You may have to ask for feedback, and it may not always be objective.

But for someone who’s self-directed and self-motivated, it fits. If you are talented, you can carve your own path and change your work environment to suit you. I'm on top of my work and I don't have anyone breathing down my neck.

Some people are energized by challenging work, others struggle with it. Personally, I enjoy the opportunities I’m afforded – working directly with customer leadership, CIOs, VPs, etc. The technical skills (Cache, VB) aren’t directly transferable, which isn’t great. But the soft skills, PM skills, networking skills, problem-solving skills, etc., are, and that’s the stuff that matters to me.

The average work week really truly is between 45 and 50. You will work more from time to time.

I'm the type to take control of my experience, so if I don't like something, I change it. I can do that here. One area I can't do much with, though, is hiring. Our talent is good, but we just need more people.

At times, I work more hours than I'm comfortable with. I don't have anyone making me do it; it's just necessary sometimes to meet goals. But it's rare, and I can usually tone it down afterwards. It should be fixed by hiring more folks.

Hire more talent.

Increase salary for those you want to keep.