Pros
A couple notes before my complete review of my years with Magenic: 1. I'm a current QA employee, and writing this knowing my managers will be able to identify me by my opinions as stated in this review. 2. Employees are offered incentives for posting "hopefully positive" reviews to Glassdoor - keep this in mind when reading other reviews of current employees. I'm keeping my opinions honest, and claiming no such incentives. TLDR: 1. Very nice managers and co-workers 2. Relaxed, laid back work culture 3. Nice, neat, clean office (MSP) 4. Free beverages (coffee, pop, sparking water, etc) 5. Flexible hours (client dependent) 6. Paid-vacation on-par with other companies 7. Offer training to hone skills 8. Yearly cost-of-living raises 9. Expense reimbursements offered Detailed explanations: 1. With the exception of a couple people over the years, management as well as co-workers are really really nice. All are willing to help with tasks. I've seen companies where job security is a threat, thus creating a culture where no knowledge is shared. This is definitely not the case at Magenic. 2. The office offers a very low-stress environment. It is perhaps too relaxed at times (see Cons). Overall, I'm glad to work in an office where I can be happy to see my manager walking towards me, rather than worried. 3. The St. Louis Park offices have been updated. Very modern, nice, and professional. 4. If you work from the Magenic office, you have access to a variety of free beverages. It's a small perk, but worth mentioning as it's a "above and beyond" perk. And it beats the vending machines most places have. 5. It's getting to be more of an industry norm, but Magenic management shows flexibility with work hours as needed. In addition to flexible hours, you can work from home on occasion if you have proven yourself to be a reliable and disciplined employee. This is all, of course, dependent on the client/project timeline. But from a Magenic point of view, I can't complain at all. 6. From what I've seen and heard from people at other companies, Magenic offers on-par starting PTO. (120 hours plus holidays) 7. Magenic offers a number of ways to increase your knowledge (classes, demos, audits, etc.) even while being paid. This is the best kind of education. 8. Magenic offers its employees a yearly cost-of-living pay increase. This is typically a 1-4% increase. They can easily afford this, however. (See cons). 9. Magenic offers partial reimbursements for misc. expenses. Most commonly used are cell phones (up to $30/month), and gym membership (up to $50/month).
Cons
TLDR: 1. Severly underpaid 2. Promotion process isn't right 3. Lazy co-workers are given free rides without discipline 4. "Sucking up" to some managers works 5. Favor shown to those who do internal tasks over client work 6. Unpredictable sales market = lay-offs and no promotions 7. Managers string you along with empty promises 8. Several perks have been removed that essentially equal a pay cut($100 monthly bonus for +85% utilization, and paid sabbatical at 10 years) 9. No sick days 10. Below average 401k Detailed explanations: 1. As others here have reviewed, Magenic offers its employees compensation that's well below the market rate (according to Glassdoor, I make 65.7% of what I'm "worth" with Magenic). This is very frustrating, especially when being "the expert" on client-site, and knowing the client employees are paid $15k+ more than you. It feels like you are being taken advantage of when the client pays Magenic an insane amount for your expertise, and your salary is well below market. 2. The promotion process isn't great. You are expected to hold the roles and responsibilities of the title above yours before given that title. Allow me to elaborate: If you have title 'A', but are doing everything that title 'B' or even 'C' requires, you likely won't be given a title 'B' salary for a year (or years) -- until you have proven yourself. This is especially sickening knowing that Magenic is charging the client for your services as title 'B' or 'C' the whole time. Lots of extra $$$ for Magenic.. This essentially means you won't get promoted if you do your job. You MIGHT (big might!) if you do the job of someone one or two positions above yours. 3. Many employees work directly from the Magenic office, and not with the clients. It isn't uncommon to look around and see many screens with different forms of social media open constantly throughout the day. Management has attempted to remedy this, but it still occurs. These workers aren't disciplined, but are treated equally with those who don't waste the client/Magenic's money. 4. It's unfortunate, but as other reviewers have mentioned, "sucking up" has worked for some. Over the years, some managers are have shown favoritism to an employee who sucks up to them (two of whom are no longer with Magenic). That employee is then far more likely to be called out with kudos than one who does their work and keeps the clients happy. This internal attention leads to promotions for them. It should be noted that sucking up to the client can have the same affect - where they receive the kudos, the rest not so much a whisper. 5. There are employees who have figured out how to quite successfully work the system. They do a lot of Magenic-internal work, as well as "work" with a client. Management sees this as going above and beyond by doing extra work, but really the employee is still only working 40 hours/week, but not giving the client all they pay for (and leaves the slack for their fellow coworkers to pick up). So at review time, they look like the hero, while the employee keeping the client happy is "only doing their job". 6. There have been several rounds of lay-offs through the years. Not completely Magenic's fault, since the market dips. This also means a year or two may go with no promotions. 7. Promises have been made by management, and not kept on several occasions. Particularly when they feel one of their valuable employees is teetering on leaving. I won't disclose any more on this. 8. Through the years, some of the bonuses that gave Magenic "an edge" over others have slowly been disappearing. As mentioned above, a monthly $100 utilization bonus was removed (or a $1200/year pay cut). A paid 3 month sabbatical after working 10 years was also removed. 9. You get no sick days at Magenic. If you're sick, you either work (and spread your sickness), or take valuable PTO. 10. Magenic typically matches only 20-25% of what you contribute to your 401k. Meaning if you put in $1000, and IF Magenic has had a good year, they'll put in up to $250. You're fully vested after 4 years.