Honest review of BrainStation
Pros
The Learning Advisors and Associate Learning Advisors are incredible people—supportive, genuine, and the only reason many people manage to stay afloat. If you’re lucky enough to work with them, the team can make even the worst days bearable.
Cons
They say a great salesperson can sell sand in a desert—at BrainStation, you're expected to sell £2,950 tech courses to people who often don’t fully understand what they’re buying, then be blamed when they inevitably ghost you. 1. Director and Manager Are Transactional and Insincere The director and manager may seem warm and encouraging at first, but that quickly fades once you voice concerns or ask questions that challenge their narrative. Feedback becomes judgment. Honest conversations are met with passive-aggressive responses—or silence. You’re gaslit into thinking you’re underperforming, just because you can’t convince someone with financial struggles, kids, or no tech background to drop nearly £3,000 on a short, unaccredited course. Leadership doesn’t seem to believe in the product either. Strategies change weekly. Pressure is constant. And when they no longer find you useful, they’ll cut you loose—no matter how hard you’ve worked. It leaves you feeling like a tissue: used, then tossed. 2. Cold, Robotic Layoffs The office has a revolving door culture. Staff are let go nearly every other week, often in 5-minute calls on a Friday. No warning, no farewell, no acknowledgment. It’s cold, clinical, and makes it clear that you’re just a number. 3. A Sales Model That Will Test Your Morals You’ll be expected to sell £2,950 courses lasting 5–8 weeks, often to people who are financially vulnerable, curious, neurodivergent, or digitally inexperienced. Many admit they can’t afford it, and you’re still told to close them. You’ll be expected to call the same people 9+ times in two weeks and sell them a dream you know probably won’t materialise. The guilt builds—especially when you're forced to exaggerate outcomes, pretend you're a tech expert, and convince people to spend a significant portion of their income on something with no accreditation and no job guarantee. And when you bring this up? You’re either ignored or told you’re “helping them.” But if you have a conscience, it will start to break you down. 4. Commission Is a Joke You earn nothing until your fifth close per month, a detail that’s conveniently left out until you’re already weeks into the role. After that, you earn £65 per close—on a £2,950 product. The company targets early-career professionals and recent grads, knowing they’re more likely to comply, stay quiet, and not question the system. But if you're trying to survive financially? Forget it. The salary and commission structure won’t support you. 5. “Optional” Overtime That Isn’t Optional Every other Thursday, you're expected to work until 8:30 or 9:00PM, unpaid. The official shift ends at 5:30 PM, but you’re made to stay another 3–4 hours under the guise of “opportunity.” You’re expected to upsell vulnerable people who just wanted to learn more about tech. You’ll get a free dinner—but a meal doesn’t cover your time, energy, or rent. 6. Constant Turnover People leave or are fired almost weekly. Most don’t make it past 6 months. Very few stay longer than 2 years. The burnout—financial, emotional, and ethical—is real. 7. Your Pipeline Determines Your Fate Success has nothing to do with talent. It’s entirely based on which course and leads you're assigned. Some are handed warm, high-converting portfolios. Others get cold, overpriced, online-only options—and are expected to hit the same KPIs. If you’re not in the manager or director’s good books, you’ll be quietly set up to fail—and let go when your numbers dip. I saw this happen to multiple people during my time there.
