Sylvan Learning Centers Reviews

Terrible hours, micromanaged 24/7, low pay, high stress, more of a sales/retail job than education or management position. You work frequent evenings and Saturdays, and long hours. Don't get many holidays or sick days. Many days I was there 10 hours with barely a 5 min lunch "break" eating at my desk because we were so busy. The 2 directors are the only full time staff. You aren't given enough labor money to delegate tasks so you end up doing it all yourself. If one director is sick, you get stuck working longer because there's no backup help. Depending on your franchise owners and location, you may also have to clean the center, so if you like using your degrees to be a maid go for it! You may also have a fingerprinting service at your center so have fun dealing with those rude customers. If you like being a receptionist and talking on the phone, you'll love it! Owners are more concerned with making money and selling the expensive programs than actually helping the kids and making it a good work environment for employees. Certified teachers are paid $10-$12 per hour, and called off at the last minute when kids don't show up, terrible!!! No work/life balance and owners don't care. Training was rushed and unorganized, still things I didn't know 6 months in. The bonuses weren't worth the work. No real recognition or compensation for doing well. After long days I would still get calls from people at the center so I felt like I was on call every night/weekend. Worst job I've ever had! Run far away! There's a reason (or 100) why the turnover rate is so high for directors. Would never recommend working for this company!

If I could give a rating lower than a single star, I would. This place is absymal. People leave and are not replaced which means the people who are sadly still employed, are left to cleanup and carry-on. This includes the multitude of temps, who are trained and eventually let go and not replaced by full-time employees. Regular work hours are out of the question. You will not be paid overtime. They promote people who have no merit in being promoted. They employ people who are clearly incapable of doing the most simplest tasks and refuse to fire because "we haven't given him/her enough chances" and eventually dump their messes and the original work onto people who do not have the time to complete the tasks. Personal life? You don't deserve one according to Sylvan Corporate. Get ready to be reprimanded for failed work that you had no part in or had no idea about because well, you're a part of the group. Their answer to boosting morale is to have events during work hours. The events are adequate, but choosing to have them during work hours when work is stockpiling by the second is asinine. Not to mention, these outings are mandatory. If you do not plan on attending on account of doing work or going home to see your family who incidentally do not remember who you are, expect a reprimand. Expect to feel angry and jilted when review time rolls around. Management has no idea what you are doing because they themselves are up to their necks in work. You can write a glittering self-review and not have it refuted because nobody knows what you do. I would not bother bringing up concerns or questions about the system - these will most definitely fall on deaf ears. I can guarantee nothing will be done to ease your pain, but you'll hear an earful of great potential things to come (that will never happen in your lifetime)! I've been written-off as a disgruntled employee; I am far from that. This was not my first job. I wore many hats while employed there and successfully accomplished all the tasks handed to me and far exceeded what I was initially hired to do. If anything, I was an employee who tolerated the abuse until I had my epiphany and realized that I am worth far more than what they cornered me into believing. Take heed, look elsewhere if you're an experienced professional.