So, I started learning to code on FCC about a year and a half ago, and have spent the last few months actively applying for jobs. Just as I was starting to give up hope, I got my first job offer, and then three days later, got a second. Now I am trying to decide between the two. So, my concerns are this:
Job 1
Has not given me information about salary/benefits. I suspect they’re good enough for me, though. The office had a comfortable if somewhat stagnant feel, and my interviewer was friendly. Outside of questions about pay, what worries me about this job is that the development stack seems heavily based on ColdFusion, which I worry has less potential for career development. Only one review on Glassdoor, but it’s very positive. Though, it is a long-ish commute (close to an hour in rush-hour traffic) …
Job 2
Offered a good health insurance package with entirely employer-paid premiums (even for dependents), which is really important for me. They’re also based on the .Net stack, which I’ve seen referenced on probably half of all job postings I’ve looked at in my area, so that seems awesome for future career growth. This company was the obvious choice for me until I read reviews on Glassdoor. There were 5 reviews, all bad, for a total score of 2.2 out of 5. (Though the reviews confirmed that the health insurance was indeed very good…) The CTO and VP of development are both new, so its possible the culture is changing, but a couple of the reviews mentioned the office is chaotic with a lot of turnover, so maybe the new leadership is just a symptom of the problem…
I am feeling really ambivalent about the Glassdoor reviews… like, certainly that’s a bad sign, but some of my favorite restaurants have really negative reviews online, so… idk. Any insights/advice?
Also, if anyone has any “how did you do it?” type questions, I would be happy to answer those.
I would be very wary about an offer that didn’t have any details. I would say that until they are willing to put something in writing, then it isn’t really an offer. I would not turn down a concrete job offer because maybe there is something else that might be better.
As to the reviews - who knows. What was the vibe you got when you were there? Did you talk to the person that would be your supervisor?
Any advise in the “how did you do it?” category are always welcome. But it might be good to open up a new thread for that so the two issues don’t get muddied.
First of all, congratulations on your journey and the multiple job offers!
Now, for my opinions:
JOB #1 : Cold Fusion? Really? That tech is so old, circa mid-90s. And even back in the 90s, I’ve talked a client to ditch that add-on technology. No need for CF since one can deal directly with the backend database without the added server license of CF, plus added security risks of CF. Just google list of CF vulnerabilities. I feel this company is stucked in the past, or just doing maintenance/updates on very old legacy systems, etc. Plus, how can they not give you an idea of what the pay is? On the other hand, sometimes people with legacy skills are overpaid a lot more to keep them on staff to maintain/update these legacy systems. (Like mainframe, midframe tech, AS400, CICS, JCL, etc).
JOB #2 : Hard to argue against the health insurance benefit. .Net is also a solid skill to have, lots of big Fortune companies use it, etc. Just make sure they’re not using .NET based on Webforms. That is one bad MF. But if they’re based on .NET MVC or Webpages or .NET Core, it’s good and lots of future growth.
As for the Glassdoor reviews (and in general product reviews) , well, people who had bad experiences are usually the ones that post reviews. The happy/content customer or employee does not have a need to post reviews. I wouldn’t put a big weight on these. Form your own opinion.
As I said, these are just my own personal opinions so take it for what it’s worth.
Job #1 is not a job offer until they’ve made it clear what salary package you are saying yes or no to. The fact you have a real offer on the table from job 2 is good tho, I wouldn’t be shy about saying to Job 1 that you have another offer and need to know what their remuneration package is so you can make an informed decision.
And I’d second what Owel says about the reviews. 5 reviews is a small data set anyway, and it’s easy to upset 5 employees over the course of several years and still be a good place to work.
Again, I wouldn’t be shy raising the Glassdoor reviews issue with whoever offered you the job - ask them if they are aware of the negative reviews, how much validity they hold and if they were accurate, what changes did the company make to address those concerns…
Good advice, also a more subtle hint is if they summarise the company at the interview in a similar manner to the positive Glassdoor reviews they may be fake. Probably only applies to larger companies but somewhere I worked you could spot false GD reviews from their cookie cutter style.
The Glassdoor profile of the company I am currently leaving looks like a war-zone. Not only are there tons of negative reviews, but someone in HR decided it would be a good idea to try to “refute” all the negative reviews, and even threatened to sue one of the reviewers for libel. Very ugly.
The Cold Fusion issue is really my biggest concern. If the tech stacks were identical, I would choose job 1 entirely because it felt more like a personality fit for me, but I don’t want to bury my career in a dead end before it even begins. Thanks for the advice.
It’s a no-brainer. Door #2, you’re gonna earn more and learn more. You’ll learn relevant tech that you’ll actually use later, and you’ll learn how to deal with “chaos”. Accept the challenge. Just don’t even think about #1 anymore.
Hi gtrabbit i am also new on FCC just completed front end development course. congratulations for your job offers. i would say that do what your heart say, both jobs have advantages and disadvantages in your view. so think and decide which job fits you and listen your heart, you will get a good answer. Thanks take care
But if they’re based on .NET MVC or Webpages or .NET Core, it’s good and lots of future growth.