Pros
I worked at Pearson for many years. The most favorable reviews I can give would be the people and the company's mission. I have worked with some of the best people - well-educated, hard working, dedicated, and most of all, caring. Pearson benefits greatly from the everyday, mid-level workers who come in and do their jobs with integrity, work cooperatively and humbly with others, and truly care about their contributions to the organization. The mission of education is deeply felt -- having a positive impact on students and teachers is a front-most compassion for everyone. If you ask anyone why they work at Pearson, it will be helping students achieve their potential. This made my time at Pearson a positive and satisfying experience.
Cons
For all the great people at Pearson, it has many, many problems with its business, corporate structure, and work rewards. Year after year, I never received a substantial raise or promotion. This is the reality of many mid-level employees. The structure is such that there are very few opportunities for advancement, and no matter how well the company performed over the years, there were always "circumstances" for only receiving minimum pay increases. Goal setting and performance reviews are mere pass-through conventions for management. There is no bigger joke than their internal job posting website -- there is no objective for the company to promote or find talent from within. Submit for an internal position and you will hear literally nothing back, yet new outside people are always brought in. Shameful! I survived by moving laterally throughout the company, mostly due to the numerous re-organizations that just shift people around. The organization is very top-heavy with management, which makes improvements and change sluggish and partisan. I still believe in the integrity of the people, but the company comes off as very disingenuous to staff and workers. So while I am grateful for my career and the blessings it provided to my family, I am also grateful to have finally left what became a demoralizing environment, which was evident on my last day - after a long career - no fare-well, no thank-you, no recognition. Sad behavior for a once great company.
