The most psychologically abusive institution I've ever been part of
Pros
- Forming close relationships with linguists around the world - Being a part of an interesting, growing industry - Developing skills that helped me find a new job
Cons
If you're reading these reviews as somebody who is contemplating a job at TPT, let me try to talk you out of it. I was once in your position. I heard that the hours were terrible and the job was stressful. And I thought to myself, the people complaining about that are probably just lazy. I'm smart and work hard, so this won't be a problem for me. But you really don't understand until you've been in the trenches yourself: working at TransPerfect is exactly like being in an abusive relationship. The whole time, the company will tell you that you are awful, that you can't keep up because you're not working hard enough or you're too inefficient, and that if you want to leave, it's because you aren't a strong person. And just like in an abusive relationship, you slap yourself whenever you think about leaving, because leaving would be betrayal, would be a sign of ingratitude for everything the company has done for you. But managers actually tell people, including me and everyone else I know who has quit, all of the above. Does it sound like I'm exaggerating? You can choose to not believe me if you want, but you'll find out the hard way. Upper management would like you to believe that it's your own failure as an employee if you can't handle the hours and stress. And to be fair, what good job is not stressful and demanding at times? However, TPT's problems run much deeper than the work/life imbalance. The only kinds of people who stay and thrive at TPT are those who will do anything it takes to get what they want. I can't even begin to list the number of incredibly questionable practices that go on behind the scenes... Anyone who has some semblance of integrity usually leaves within two years. Project managers are set up for failure on almost job, and are expected to do the impossible while sales gets drunk with clients and fails to properly manage client expectations. You're basically on your own all the time, with no support from a team and no feedback from management. In fact, rather than trying to balance our workloads and checking to see how we're doing, managers are distant and hold the philosophy of "let's see how much work you can take before you reach your breaking point, then we'll yell at you for someone else's mistakes". The number of literal emotional breakdowns I witnessed in my short time at TPT is just sickening.
