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AT&T has career growth opportunities but you have to really take control of your career. It's a large and complex organization and it's up you to discover the path you want to take. If you can do that you'll be fine.
Decent work/life balance and a strong benefits package. Salary between 80-90k.
PROS: Money, health benefits, pension plan (grandfathered in)
CONS: Where do I start? Used to be an okay place to work, never was great. All the bosses play favoritism to the extreme and those of us not on the favorite list get no training, no equipment, no special projects, no support whatsoever. example: they track how much we idle our vans (gas costs being high) and i was told to i am idling too much. i said my battery on my laptop is bad and i have been asking for a new one for over a year. i was told "that's tough". so, i started coming back to the shop to plug in and was told i couldn't do that. Asked what i was supposed to do and was told "that's not my problem". just a typical day at AT&T. i havent had training on several things i am working on but am expected to perform to the standards that the guys who have had training are at. try to get the union involved, they do nothing. i could go on and on about the cons of this place. run the other way if you are thinking about working here. worst place i have ever worked and i thank my lucky stars that i was able to retire and get out of there. Search for and watch the "prem tech" videos on utube. all true and i can vouch from experience.
starting pay ~$50K, retired at ~$90k with overtime. 3 wks vacation after 15 years. pension is good, have health care in retirement but pension and healthcare in retirement no longer offered to new hires.
Pros
The only good thing that I can think of with AT&T (call center) is that the pay and work hours are decent. You would work between 8-6. You wont work on weekends in this position.
The Cons
This job is extremely stressful! It's not even the customers that causes the stress! The management and training is absolutely horrible. You will have to start taking calls with the feeling that you don't know what you are doing. Management isn't supportive and the internal processes doesn't work well. (Way too many systems) The systems don't communicate with one another which makes your job much more difficult. Then the pressure of trying to sell something on every single call to people who are extremely dissatisfied with their bills and services already. The worst part of all is, there are internal teams that only takes "sales" calls so this leaves you scrambling trying to turn a "customer service" call into a "sales" call. You don't get benefits until after 6 months, in which at that time you are ready to walk out anyway. You can't go into another position that you may be better qualified for unless you have been in this position for an entire 2 years, which most can't stand it for 6 months. They work on an occurrence system so if you have children, this is not a good place for you, you will be written up if you have to be out of work for a sick child. No PTO or sick days. Absolutely NO down-time to take initiative to learn anything that you aren't comfortable with. This is just a HORRIBLE, HORRIBLE place to work, I can go on and on!
everything that is negative about this company is true!!!!!! this is a very difficult company to work for!!!! all of the bs they put you through is some bS!! If you want to be a slave go ahead and work for this company!!! they do not care about you!!!
Don't know what you all are complaining about.
Why are all of you complaining? This is a great company to work for. I male a great hourly and a huge commission. I am making around 97k as a sales rep in Michigan. Yes there are a lot of policy's and micro managing but if u do your job u will b left alone and make money. Overall this job is simple give the customers what they come in for easy as that. All the complaining is ridicules. Where else can u find a high paying job that's is simple
It's your choice to work here or not but i can only tell you about my experience. At&t gives the appearance that they are family oriented and care about you but they could actually care less if you ever see your family or have free time. I was working 10am to 9pm 5 days a week and a lot of the time 6 days a week because the mandatory overtime is ridiculous. The management is very passive and will never make a decision, so almost all issues go unresolved. It's a very negative environment and almost every employee (including management) is unhappy and complains all day. This department is supposed to handle internal customers and technicians but the majority of the calls are irate customers who have been cold transferred, so you are bombarded when you pick up that phone. You are basically doing customer service and getting paid for dispatch. You are expected to just deal with the calls, even though the customer service reps are making double. Transfers out of that department are non-existent, but when they first hire you they make it seem like transferring is a piece of cake. The only way out is to quit and then you have to wait 6 months before you can even be reconsidered for rehire in a different department. Everything is done by seniority. It doesn't matter how good of a performer you are or how great your attendance is. You will not get a better schedule because the slacker sitting next to you started a week before you. I worked Thanksgiving day, Christmas Eve, Christmas day, New years eve, New years Day, Memorial Day, 4th of July, and Labor day. You will have no life at all. I agree with the comment below me. At&t doesn't care about your concerns. They believe you should be happy that you have a job. I'm sure there are happy At&t employees but i've never met one.
Starting Salary was 10.50/hr. Ending Salary 11.57/Hr.
They do offer you Vacation time but getting on the vacation Calendar is VERY difficult. They only allow one AM person and one PM person a day and sometimes not even that. Then a lot of the time they will block off the vacation calendar due to "Needs of the Business" (That is their favorite statement to use and it will Trump anything you say) There is over 200 people in that call center so trying to plan a vacation to have multiple days off in a row has to be done WAY in advance. There is no commission or bonuses. You receive a 50 cent raise every 6 months..lol
When I first started at AT&T, things were good. Then I moved around and saw the other side. The managers show favoritism and treat some employees like dirt...always yelling at them, telling them they are not doing a good job, etc. You have no work/life balance, they expect you to work 60+ hours for the crummy salary they give you. And advancement, only if you are a family member or have had a family member in a high position at once. Don't think about telling upper management about harassment because they won't do anything about it...neither will HR. They think because you have a job, you should be happy!!!
$48,000, no bonus, 3 weeks vacation
Ever since the merger, AT&T slowly became a place where no one wanted to work. Managers left, others were ushered in, and the hierarchy became so confused that you didn't know who to talk to about what. Then they took away everything they considered "perks", including the following:
- Flex time (to account for emergencies)
- Cups, forks, knifes, spoons and plates in the break area
- Microwaves
- Coffee (which was brought back as a *paid* coffee machine for 0.50 a cup!)
- Napkins
- Office supplies
Everyone there is overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated. This branch of AT&T specializes in negative reinforcement, and compliments are few and far in between. When I left, they were firing people left and right (at least three a week). STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE! It is absolutely toxic.
The only "pros" of this place are that it used to be great about a year ago. Now, my "pro" is that I no longer work there. Woohoo!
No vacation time unless you've worked at least a year, no bonuses or reimbursements, no sick time. The only perk is that it's conveniently located right in Midtown near MARTA.
Management in AT&T IT is like walking through a mine field. You don't know where the booby traps are. The executives do not provide goals or expectations of the teams then criticize when they do not meet expectations. Anyone Director or above will not make a decision. They wait for lower level people to make the decision then throw them under the bus when it is "wrong". Promotions go to those that keep a low profile and don't stand out in the crowd. If you are an over-achiever that goes the extra mile, you will likely be passed by. Then you will hear about the promotion of someone who has not contributed anything significant.
The benefits are ok, the salary is ok. Work environment not good, bad equipment (pc's, etc.) more rules than you can possibly keep track of and politics and policies that make it very difficult to do your job.
Starting: $95,000, current $112,000. Bonus 20%, although unlikely we will get the full 20% this year.
Working in management at AT&T (formerly sbc) is difficult. They don’t like anyone to go against the tide. You are either in or out and if you are in you have free reign to do as you please but if you are out of the loop things will be made difficult for you.
There are many layers of management. Many more than necessary. The mergers have taken a big toll on the company. People are constantly moved around with no rhyme or reason. New positions are created while others are eliminated very quickly. If you are interested in management just remember that things are unstable right now with AT&T.