Left Cengage five years ago because I couldn't take it anymore. Talked to a former colleague who worked in software dev that was let go over the summer and found a better job soon after. He said the yearly purges have just intensified over the past few years. For those of you still there, I have a serious question -- WHY?? Why do you still subject yourself to this backwater company that gets worse every single year? This is a sincere question and I am not trolling. I have a lot of friends still at Cengage and can't understand why they still do it to themselves.
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It's transferrable vs non-transferrable skills.
The people who work in software or core business areas have transferrable skills. They either get paid what their worth at Cengage (rarely) or they leave.
The people who work on the publishing/content side usually don't have much, if any, experience outside of their specialty and there isn't much about those jobs that transfer outside of ed publishing.
I started my career on the publishing side and realized pretty quickly that, at best, I was looking at a dead end career with relatively low pay. At worst my job would be outsourced/automated/eliminated. I made my way to a core business area, got Cengage to pay for most of my MBA, graduated and got the F out of there. But I still have a lot of friends in publishing who really don't have any options outside of Cengage.
Truly, at this point, waiting to get laid off to have a few months of paid vacation.
When I worked there it was the easiest job there was. Minimum work for around 50-60k depending on how the sales year went. If sales sucked you would get like 30k, but again the work was minimum. 2 hour lunches were the norm, I cant imagine how little some people worked during Covid. I knew someone who would come in an hour late, take a 2 hour lunch break, and leave an hour early everyday while we were in the office.
Anyone worth a darn left years ago. Those who are still there are simply playing out the string or are pretty much unemployable outside the business.
This is simple...they are afraid there skill sets are non tranferrable (especially coming from sales) in a dated business. Publishing is all the lifers know and struggle communicating to recruiters what their contributions have been in their current role.
Its a jungle out and hard to find another edtech job, especially in Kentucky.
Greetings OP,
Thank you for sharing your experience at Cengage. As a former employee, you are well aware that Cengage is constantly disrupting because we are a leader in EdTech. Part of working at a company that moves at lightning speed is our talent needs are constantly shifting. Look no further than our tech colleagues at Twitter to see this disruption in action. As a tech leader, we are constantly reevaluating our needs and that can mean some of our older, more experienced colleagues with higher salaries are separated. This constant reevaluation allows us to attract skilled employees with English degrees that truly believe in our mission of saving the student money.
It sounds like you recognized that a fast paced tech employer was not a good fit for you and self-selected out. I salute you for having the self-awareness to realize that a slower paced, non-disruptive industry such as aerospace would likely be a better fit for you. In fact, I encourage our veteran employees near the top of their salary band to have this same conversation with themselves in the next few month before we are forced to have it with them. Sooner or later, everyone must get on the train.
Idealism versus reality. Some people actually believe they are participating in helping people through learning.
Reality: No one cares except those in the echo chamber. There is nothing innovative or particularly helpful in what they do.
I’ve never seen such a disconnect between what people in the business think about themselves versus what a typical individual on the outside thinks about the business.
Hint: virtually everyone thinks it’s an overpriced scam.
Came for the mission statement, stayed for the pizza
I’m lazy and incompetent so I like to burrow my way into shrinking dying organizations and can quickly move up when more competent and intelligent coworkers move to better prospects I’ll be there to fill their vacant position via attrition.