Pros
Friendly environment! Pretty good vacation, 10 days in your first year and goes up from there. Plus paid holidays for full time employees. You never need to take work home. Overtime is rare and never required or held against you if you don’t work it. Decent pay, starting wages are at $15 an hour. Yearly raises for full time employees or when there is a major shift in responsibilities. All of my raises have been well above the national average. No experience needed. Corporate events are actually fun most of the time not lukewarm pizza. The owner of the company is usually in the building and is very involved. There is a small chain of command so if your direct supervisor isn’t able to handle an issue you can go to another manager or the owner. When management positions are vacated they usually hire from within the company. Most positions don’t need to interact with clients or customers at all. Lots of opportunities to learn other departments if you get bored or just want to do it all. Very relaxed dress code. Diverse staff, management do a lot to help employees who are not neurotypical. There are always interesting cases!
Cons
Ridged schedule. You don’t need to stay past 5 which is great but if you need to leave early or get stuck in traffic you’re using vacation or hoping to get approval to stay late on another day. Limited room for advancement. Most of the management team really like the company and have been in their rolls for years so they aren’t likely to leave. Work from home opportunities are VERY rare. We rarely hear what happens after we finish with a case so sometimes it feels like shouting into the void. Doing the same thing 8-5, 5 days a week can get monotonous at times. It is a workplace so you are expected to work and not do things that keep other people from working but that is true of any business.
Pros
I have had more opportunity to grow in this company than I have ever been given previously. They are fair in regards to wages and I love the people I work with! My goals are very clear and are very achievable. This company is like family to me!
Cons
Would love to get more PTO!
Pros
- Relaxed work environment: Working at Merge is really not that stressful and as some others have mentioned, you do get to clock out at 5 and not have to worry about bringing work home in any capacity. The dress code is nice considering some office jobs really make you wear dress pants and a collared shirt every single day. As far as daily tasks and day to day work duties, obviously this will vary depending on department, but in my 2 years working here so far, I have never been so overwhelmed with anything that I felt like it was unmanageable. Communication with managers is good, with some managers being out of office and remote, there can be a little more wait time than if they were available face to face in office. I never feel ignored and when problems arise I find it easier to just be clear with your issue and they will address it. - Relatively easy initial training and learning curve: Training at the beginning might seem a little laxed and not as informative but you will pick up on things quickly if you pay attention and don't be afraid to ask questions. Most people at the time of this review who work here have never worked for a PI company and they seem to be doing fine. As with any job, you will learn a lot assuming you pay attention and also show an interest in learning more than what is just "expected" of you. - Diverse group of people to meet and potentially meet: Merge employs all types of people and does not seem to hire a specific age group, or any other preference of person based on specific qualities. If they feel they can perform the job adequately, they will hire them, Merge does hold events in and out of office and gives people more than enough chances to meet one another and converse, anyone who says otherwise simply does not participate in them or chooses to not socialize. - Opportunity to learn other departments: Learning about a company is important and especially learning your position that you were hired for. Merge does allow people to sit in on and train with other departments for reasons sometimes as simple as your curious and you would like to know how they do things. Don't just think because you work in one department you should be limited to only knowledge of just that one. I personally found it helpful just to know how other departments work (without taking on their workload entirely) and in my case helped me better understand certain aspects of my own position and the company as a whole. Yes, this is a PI company, yes there are things that they might not tell you simply because it has nothing to do with your department, duties, etc., this does not mean EVERYTHING is some big secret and most of the time, it honestly doesn't even affect you personally.
Cons
- Advancement feels slim but... Another big topic on here, listen, advancement is not impossible, I have advanced in ways that some people might not, whereas other people have advanced in ways that I cannot. No person is the same in terms of their advancement or duties assumed. While this might seem off-putting to some people, it does not mean that it can't happen. There is no straight-line way to advance to the magical position you want here and that's not a bad thing in my opinion. Show up, do quality work, and at the very least, make it known that you have some interest in taking on further duties and you would be surprised at what opportunities might come your way. -Pay: I feel you should be paid based on quality of work and ability to learn and prove yourself just like at any other company. Experience matters and obviously someone in a certain position with prior experience will most likely earn more than someone with no experience, it's just the way it is. I would agree this job is a good starting position for someone looking to get into the career path of Investigative Services and who wants to build experience and meet some good people along the way who have been in the industry for quite some time. With this being said, the pay is neither amazing, nor terrible. I am the type of person that does not base my job experience/satisfaction solely on how much I make or wish to make. I enjoy my job here and though on occasion I feel I could make more somewhere else; the experience I have gained here so far, I feel will hold more worth in the long run for me personally.
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