Comments on: Epic Systems

By: Former Epic Employee Too

Former Epic Employee Too — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 06:55:34 +0000

I posted a very long rant about my time at Epic. Take a read

By: FormerEpic

FormerEpic — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 18:08:38 +0000

Bah, people are so negative about Epic. It was a great place to come out of school with a liberal arts degree and learn something that’s paid dividends throughout my career. I stayed at Epic for 3.5 years in one of those dreaded implementation jobs. Yes, I worked 50-60 hours a week with occasional spikes (people going above 60 on a regular basis are either not capable of time management or counting flight time as work time). Yes, I was burned out, when I left…But I learned a ton about the industry, general management of staff and projects, and lots of other intangible skills that are tough to get with your normal out-of-college entry level jobs.

After moving to a 40-hr-per-week job (and getting bored out of my mind after the euphoria of free time wore off), I decided to go to grad school, and my Epic experience led to a 6 figure consulting gig which is financing the degree I’ll begin next year. Overall, I consider my Epic experience truly valuable – it’s not for everyone, but it’s not the terror everyone seems to think.

By: Another Opinion on Epic

Another Opinion on Epic — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 01:42:57 +0000

As an Epic “client” (Hospital), I have been to Epic for training, and have dealt with the company and their people extensively. Some of their employees love it; some hate it (just like any other company).
If you’re fresh out of school, dynamic, upbeat, and pretty smart, you might enjoy the challenge. It’s also good experience and can help open doors. But, it’s not for everyone. It’s very hard work and can require many long hours and a lot of travel. It’s true that some Epic people burn out. Those that stay are well-rewarded. You’ll notice that the average age of Epic staff is low because Epic prefers to recruit people who are fresh out of college (lower pay expectations & more “trainable”).
In response to Jim’s comment, I would have to say that people are willing to do anything it takes to put food on the table. And, they are willing to make sacrifices to get experience. But, if there are other opportunities that have normal work hours and don’t require tons of OT and travel, they might be more likely to choose them.

By: Jim Long

Jim Long — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 05:18:03 +0000

Well if your out there in this economy and am looking for a job period then 65 hours a week sounds good. But so does putting food opn your table. I’m going to school now for Health Information Management Technology and I am already looking for a position in a company that works in the field I’m training in. So if you don’t like it there then leave. I believe the exit door is the same one you walked in when you were hired. Jobs are hard to come by now so unless you don’t have one then you don’t know how important it is for “us” real people to get good grades and hope that any place in our field is willing to hire “us” when we graduate.

By: AnotherEpicPeon

AnotherEpicPeon — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 17:29:53 +0000

I’ve only been here for 8 months and am already looking for the exit – the post from “Epic Peon” is quite accurate, and I would encourage anyone interested in working here to look at other forums like JobVent. If you have any talent or ambition, or expect a modicum of management competence in a company, you would be better off looking elsewhere for employment.

By: Willy Franzen

Willy Franzen — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:56:54 +0000

Just to verify, the previous comment was posted from an Epic Systems IP address, so it does seem to be from an actual employee. With that said, it’s only one point of view, so be sure to do some more research to get a full idea of what Epic is really like.

By: EpicPeon

EpicPeon — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 16:54:49 +0000

Nicole,

Don’t feel wistful. Feel very,very glad that you avoided the sewer that is Epic Systems. The campus draws a lot of people. It seems cool until you start working here and you realize that you either a) Never see it because you spend 65 hours a week in airports or b) You work in the office 65 hours a week and come to hate the sight of every fruity, ugly item of art on the wall.

After almost four years, I still have not figured out if management is clueless, lazy, or truly sadistic, but the company is run by a bunch of ex-programmers with no leadership or social skills who micromanage every project into the ground until you spend more time filling out tracking spreadsheets than you do actually working on your projects.

Deadlines are insane and do not give QA adequate time to test the software, so the products are buggy as hell. The largest customers are given preferential treatment to the point of being able to request free change orders on ridiculous timelines. People get sick of working here, leave, and are replaced by a bunch of people who are given little or no training on how to do their job. Just when they actually start learning enough to be useful, they burn out and quit and so the process starts all over again…

Run. Run far away. Tell your friends to run far away. If you have friends who work here, kidnap them and hire a cult de-programmer. They might need it.

By: Nicole

Nicole — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 15:33:24 +0000

I interviewed at Epic a few years ago (pre-fantastic campus, although I saw the plans- the treehouse was planned to have cellphone blocking to maintain the peace!). Everyone was incredibly friendly and enthusiastic about the company, and I met a LOT of people. They have a ton of neat employee friendly programs (just one… they have tons of great art on the walls, chosen by employees).
I was interviewing for entry level consulting. The process was comprehensive but nothing particularly weird or “gotcha” about the interviews. I was offered the job but took something else and I always feel wistful when I read about Epic!