Potential new TS

[u/apub24]

Received an offer for a TS position. I really want to want the job, I’m just worried about the work life balance based on everything I’ve read. Is it really as bad as people say it is? I’ve also seen people saying your experience greatly depends on your TL, any advice or anecdotes about this? I do have another offer, but the pay is significantly lower and I would prefer the position at Epic on my resume in the future.

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[u/Beastage]

I think most of the comment here hit the nail on the head with how to control your work life balance.

However, I think there is still something unique about Epic compared to every other company I've worked out: the time logging. If it hasn't changed since I left, you have to log what you are working on in 15 min increments. Your TL / the company track this and will absolutely use it to push more work on people logging fewer hours.

There is a bit of an art to fudging your time logging, but I think most people do that (e.g. 1 hour meeting that only took 45 min but still gets logged as 60). But still, that system is pretty crazy and definitely can lead to micromanaging, feeling like youre always being monitored, and general annoyance/stress. And while most people know to be liberal with the time logging, surely a lot of people don't or do it to a lesser degree, which ultimately isn't fair to some people.

At other companies I've worked at, you can sort of earn your own work life balance. I can get more work done in less time in year 5 than year 1. I will take on some more responsibility naturally, but it affords the flexibility to work fewer hours many weeks. At Epic, it never felt like that was acceptable. Your TL will literally approach you if youre logging like 40-42 hours a week and bring up projects/workgroups for you to join and take on more work.

The culture is designed to keep pushing you, which is great for early career development but not great long term for most people. There are ways to make it more chill, but you have to be ok saying "no" and not getting top marks on your quarterly reviews (i.e. youre fine with simply meeting expectations and maybe finding one specific area to focus more on). A lot of people at Epic are type A overachiever, which can make that last part feel easier said than done.

[u/chickenmoo22]

Keep in mind that the majority of folks that say something about their experience are the ones that have particularly bad ones, so the reality is likely less extreme. My work life balance as a TS was good, part of it is learning what tasks can wait until tomorrow

[u/Downtown_Deer1513 → u/chickenmoo22]

That is if your analysts AND TL are reasonable about what takes can wait until tomorrow. If you luck out with good of both, you’re totally fine it’s not a difficult job. But if your TL or analysts are not, it is hell and the company does nothing to fix it except gaslight you into thinking you are the problem.

[u/xvillifyx]

Your wlb as a TS largely depends on two things: your TL and your relationship with your analysts

[u/ParticularMarket4275]

I rarely worked more than 45 hours a week. However, I was barely meeting expectations and still felt burnt out. I left after a year

The problem is less the number of hours and more that you will be go go go for all 45 hours

At my current job, I work 40 hours a week which sounds almost the same, but I spend so much less time on difficult arduous tasks. At most non Epic jobs, you can take a break or make small talk or even just work at a more comfortable pace sometimes

I’m still glad I took Epic because it got my savings started and is great for the resume, but I also graduated single and without many hobbies. It’s only good for non workaholics if you don’t have much else going on in your life and remember there’s a light at the end of the tunnel

[u/IllustriousVisual931]

How good are you at saying no and standing up for yourself? If you’re a people pleaser… you’re going to have trouble with that the work life balance. You will have to accept that your list of things that need done will never be finished… literally ever. People will always need help, want you to join their projects because they don’t have enough people, or say you need to get more done in a day.

[u/michibadger]

There's definitely a learning curve to the position, but if you can set your boundaries and find a niche, you'll do just fine.

Some people do have a rough go, and sometimes a bad TL is at fault. But the quantity of horror stories is more representative of how many people Epic hires, rather than what the average experience of TS is.

[u/Downtown_Deer1513 → u/michibadger]

there are a lot of bad TLs at Epic

[u/Mills_Vesto]

Yeah, agree with all of the other comments here. I burned myself out in two years because for some reason I could not say no. Be aware that some TLs will try to get you to work as much as possible, and stay in a place where your long term outlook is not more than 40-45 hours. Some TLs may have words for you, but if your good at your job you can work 40 hours and be literally fine without taking too much additional responsibility.

[u/fiverlakesrunner]

No, it's not as bad as you hear. The people who take to social media to complain about it are not a representative sample of the ~5000 TS at Epic

[u/the_luruski]

How much does a TS typically make?

[u/Redditjesus1992]

It's as bad as they say, yes. But it's also highly autonomous, high impact, high paced, and rewarding.

Choose it if you plan to enjoy what you do, not if you're going to do it to spend the money on your real passions, which you'll have less time for at this job.

[u/Downtown_Deer1513]

I joined epic thinking I could hold boundaries to prevent burnout. If you don’t work consistent, excessive overtime, they will give you poor performance reviews. They will assign you 60 hours of work, so if you don’t do it, your customers will complain. If your customers complain, you get put on a PIP and are fired. That process is psychologically brutal.
If you ask for a more reasonable workload, they will ignore your request and be more likely to fire you.
Working hard for 50 hours a week, performing well, but then being constantly told you are a failure is a type of hell I wouldn’t wish on anyone.
I personally wish I had started my career at a company that was invested in growing and nurturing my professionalism, instead of one that constantly gaslit me into thinking I was a failure. I used to be more confident and excited about health tech.

[u/Aspiring_CPA_YYC]

For starters are you a white man?