Pros
So far, my paycheck gets deposited on time.
Cons
If I asked my coworkers, I would probably find that, in recent years, most have had a new manager, on average, every 6 months due to chronic reorganization and turnover. Once, I found out about a manager change by email, and then I didn't hear from him again for months. That was when he scheduled my performance review. The gist of the review was this…he said that he "called around" to talk to a few people, and it seemed like I was doing a good job. I don't even blame him or any of my other managers. They have way too many direct reports. I won't go on. I think another reviewer covered this topic pretty well. Development leadership makes promises to customers and delivers nothing on some product lines, literally, for years. I understand that a company needs to make a profit. However, collecting maintenance from customers year after year and delivering nothing is plainly unethical (and unsustainable). I work hard and I care about personally providing a fair value to the customers that I serve. Frankly though, I'm not feeling good about the value that the company is providing to clients. The taint of that situation is making me feel dirty by association...like I'm participating in a confidence game. At this point I think I should just get out, but the non-compete agreement they made us sign to keep our jobs after the 'strategic combination' is ridiculous. I should have told them I wouldn't sign it and quit, but I naively believed that things would get better. Now I am stuck. Basically it says I can't accept a similar position for one year after employment ends even if they fire me without cause. The question is, what's similar? Anything in higher education, or with a software company, or anywhere in IT? The grapevine tells me that Ellucian is suing former co-workers over the agreement. I'm hearing that these people aren't even working in anything related to higher ed (which is the only industry where Ellucian competes). I guess I'll have to see a lawyer specializing in employment law to see if it's legal and enforceable. It's so sad that it's come to this. Honestly, I feel like this job was the biggest mistake I ever made. I feel that my time at Ellucian has been wasted, and I have done irreparable damage to my career prospects. Right now, I wouldn't recommend this company to a friend, a valued business contact, or my worst enemy.