People are MetaLab's greatest asset, but compensation is lacking
Pros
MetaLab had the best recruiting and onboarding experience I have ever had, bar none. They truly care about who they hire and if they will be a good fit. When it came to learning and design, the team was willing to work hard and share with one another. We had a culture of design thinking, critique, and respectful community. I worked with some of the most talented people I've ever had the pleasure of meeting. Working with huge clients is a ton of fun, and being able to cover such a wide swath of product problems and thinking in short amounts of time is great for the agency minded designer.
Cons
When I was there, everyone was vastly underpaid, while the agency charged incredible amounts of money for our engagements. I'm talking $40k UNDER market salary, with no bonuses. It became a place that underpaid designers who were flattered to work there, but left when large tech companies offered twice the salary MetaLab did. The unfortunate reality is that the owner is more concerned with MetaLab making him more money than actually being involved in what made it awesome in the first place.
