Fast Enterprises Reviews

Pros

- Compensation is top notch - Most FASTies are great to work with - Everyone on the project has the opportunity to make a big difference - The Product is good and definitely improves the lives of our clients -Overtime is paid

Cons

- Every site is different. Depending on site leadership, you may have an excellent experience or a horrible one. - A lot of the decisions about the core product are made by people who have not worked on a project site in over a decade. While they may look good on paper, they often diminish the usefulness of the product and make things more difficult for project staff. - It seems like there have been a lot of very good and experienced people being fired lately without much explanation. - People are often pressured into being leaders without a pay raise, even when they probably shouldn't lead or don't want to. - You have to move a lot, and it's always a huge pain - the third party that coordinates everything is awful. - Team building budgets aren't what they used to be. - There's a lot of long hours expected at certain parts of the project - Testers and trainers are leaving at an alarming rate, and are not being replenished, meaning that there is either more work for fewer people or a lower quality of training.

Pros

Amazing benefits and being able to live in new areas can be a good experience for some. You can move into a different position fairly easily. You get regular raises and bonuses. Because of their clientele, the market is secure.

Cons

There is a lack of diversity across the board, meaning it's easier to run into people that lack social and cultural awareness. Higher management is out of touch, and most aren't open to hearing about what young employees bring to the table, even though they mostly hire people straight out of college, which is also a con. It's easier for them to take advantage of people because they know college kids are used to working long hours and don't yet have an idea of a realistic and sustainable work-life balance. If you are looking to be a developer, you might be disappointed. It's mostly configuration unless you work in conversion or on the tech team. Lastly, the company culture is definitely there but feels a little cult-ish sometimes.

Pros

I liked most of the other Implementation Consultants I worked with. The annual company retreat is a nice gesture, and can be fun.

Cons

If you are coming from a computer science background, or are looking for that kind of job, I would avoid this role. Aside from some SQL experience, most of what you learn here is not transferable. This is not a software developer role. You mostly use proprietary tools/GUIs/Visual Studio Add-Ons, and occasionally write a plug-in class. A lot of the code is very dated. They were using VB.NET when I left in 2018. I didn't think about this when I joined, and I found it very difficult to transition out of this job to a normal developer role. They do not scale up well. You will be expected to do the work of 2 people for certain initiatives (new projects, version upgrades, service packs). There were numerous 6-12 month spans were I averaged over 60 hours a week. You get paid for every hour you work, so some people are okay with this. But I did not appreciate the unrealistic workloads, working until I went to bed, coming in on weekends, etc. The owners are very old-fashioned and stubborn. They were very opposed to remote work and even during peak Covid were asking people to go into office if the client was. This is totally unnecessary. Moving people around the country (and sometimes internationally) is too. I had no problem doing my work remote during Covid. In many cases it was easier (sharing screens instead of trying to look over someone's shoulder for example). Forcing people to move on a whim to horrible places is really toxic and inconsiderate. I thought the travel aspect would be cool when I first started. But take a good look at the state capitals. Most of them are small, random towns. It will be very hard to maintain friendships, date, build community, buy a house, etc. This is a big reason why people quit (along with burnout). By the time I burned out, I was stuck in a random location I didn't want to be in, working brutal amounts of overtime, with a resume that was haunted by esoteric, non-transferrable experience. If I could go back in time, I would tell myself not to take this job.

Pros

- Great health insurance - Opportunities for career growth - Travel (if you like traveling) - Good job security a la working in the government sphere

Cons

- Poor work-life balance - Working OT is seen as a virtue and not as harmful to mental health - Bouts of extreme OT can persist for weeks or month at a time where you very literally might have no time except to work and attempt to get a few hours of sleep, 6-7 days a week - Upper management does not advocate for your mental health. Just says “it’s only for a few weeks longer” or “it’s only a few more hours more per day” - Not enough time off - Work from home does not exist or is iffy on some projects - Product is extremely proprietary so your knowledge in the industry as a whole can go stale

Pros

FAST is always there for the employees. Whatever issues we might have, they will always be there to discuss and find solutions

Cons

As of now, no cons whatsoever. Everything is A-OK

Pros

The pay is usually good, though keep in mind that there can be a range of 40+k for new hires.

Cons

"Crunch Time" generally lasts for several years, and then you move and it starts over. Expect to do overtime every day/week. They mostly hire only new graduates, so the big money numbers wow them. Training is pretty minimal and it is often talked about by other employees as a "Sink or Swim" environment. I.e. There is very little in the way of documentation/support, so figure it out.

Pros

As a Computer Science grad and former employee at FAST I wanted to share my honest thoughts in a civil manner. I want to preface by saying the people, culture and benefits are up there with the best you can find in any company. Perfect place to make lifelong friends and colleagues right out of college. Lot of social events and company events Your Salary will go up every year assuming you're meeting all your goals and contributing well. Very very very good work life balance

Cons

If you're not working at Fast Enterprises HQ then you are not going to be working as a software engineer for this company. At least on Linkedin, I'm not a fan of how the on-site role is titled as "Software Engineer" because that's just not true. You are a consultant who implements Software for 's government agency (DMV, DOR, etc..) If you are looking for a role where you want to learn industry relevant and transferrable software engineering skills, this is not it. Unless you are applying to be an engineer at FAST HQ, the implementation consultant role will provide you with very minimal transferable technical skills. Yes you will code but it is 100% SQL and VB.NET/C#. I got very lucky with the projects I was working on which led me to build some transferable experience but this is NOT a role you want to take on if you want to grow as a SOFTWARE ENGINEER coming out of college. When i decided I wanted more of a core development/engineering role last year, I had to put a lot of effort on the side, outside of the job (leetcode, practice interviews, refresh data structures, algos, system design) to be able to interview. However if you don't care about all that and want a slightly technical role surrounded by great people and great vibes then this is the job for you!

Pros

On paper, best company ever. Great benefits, they pay you more than enough. The coworkers are all friendly and will help you settle in. You feel like a part of something.

Cons

After the first two weeks of training, you're on your own. As a neurodivergent person, it was exceedingly difficult to get the extra communication and client-interaction help I needed, and any screw-ups that resulted were pinned on me despite my efforts to get the help I needed.

Pros

I enjoy working with the people at FAST Enterprises, they are always available for questions and listen to my concerns.

Cons

Low autonomy and an Isolated workplace structure. Not a lot of room for creativity.

Pros

Great benefits, good work culture, competitive pay.

Cons

Normal workplace drama. Soft skills aren’t valued as much as technical skills. A lot of relocation which is expensive even with a lot of the upfront expenses covered by the company as well as a bonus.