philanthropy manager

security officer

director of partnerships

building maintenance

associate general counsel

National Geographic

I was working 2-3 positions at the same time and severely underpaid. Leadership is an absolute joke. They are all friends with each other, and often get together with their assistants and brag about how much money they make while their assistants are struggling to pay rent. You are expected to work far beyond normal working hours and leaders/bosses/etc send emails at all hours of the day and night. On top of working 2-3 jobs at one time, you will also have to interview candidates and set them up with all technology, supplies, etc. without any extra compensation. Bonuses are a joke. Low level employees get MAX $2000 for going above and beyond. Leadership receives 6 figure bonuses and cuts overtime for hourly folks. There are some truly evil leaders at NatGeo. I know of 4 different people who have had to seek mental health treatment due to the actions of one senior leader. The head of HR stays at said leader's multiple vacation homes and that leader always gets nothing more than slap on the wrist. The ONLY saving grace at this place is fellow coworkers. We all came to NatGeo with the idea that is was a world class place to work. Trauma bonding at its finest. 

Art consultants are pawns in the fine art galleries. Corporate just wants sales and they care about nothing else. The company motto being that we are the profit center for the non profit and we really care about our clients is wrong. They want us to get money out of everyone coming through the door no matter what it takes. Its not about the clients or what they want, its money. We sit in the gallery for 8-10 hours a day, 40-50 hours a week and are forced to work from home. The gallery is open 365 days out of the year and we are expected to work holidays with NO additional pay benefits. The gallery stays stagnant, rarely is new work put up onto the walls. So therefore we’re forced to try to sell the same piece every single day for months and months at a time, all the while corporate is upset because we aren’t getting sales. But how do you try to sell the same pieces to the same clientele for 4 years?  They don’t give you the proper tools to succeed.

The only opportunity for promotion is being an associate gallery director or gallery director. Art consultants that have been working for the gallery for YEARS are consistently denied promotions, stuck in the same patterns and unable to make enough money to sustain themselves.

What is the best part of working at the company?
So many smart colleagues. The focus on the mission to further science, exploration and save the planet showed me how work with a meaningful purpose makes the hard work so much more personally and professionally fulfilling. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Mergers and acquisitions can create uncertainty within the organization. That can be expected in most media organizations. I did not work there under the Disney ownership so do not feel I can answer this. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work hard and enjoy the rewards from the successes. Engage the consumer with amazing content and stories. Very creative environment. Great CEO for the channel. Many strong women in leadership positions. Friendly people that care about the planet. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Begin problem solving. Collaborate and deliver result against goals set by the leadership and teams responsible for the implementation of these resulting efforts.

The salary and benefits were competitive, perks included free museum admission for employees and guests as well as Fox film screenings, occasional networking opportunities and employee happy hours.

Operations department was very, very top heavy. There were way too many Managers, Directors, Senior Directors, VPs and Senior VPs. Senior management ought to be consolidated if they want to save money and be 'more nimble', instead of laying off employees and contracting work. Ironically, there was virtually no opportunity to move into a management role if that was your career interest. Unless you are a friend/golf buddy/"mentee"/ of senior management, don't get your hopes up to rise above being seen as just another "worker bee".

Advice to Management
Make an effort to invest in career development for employees. There are many talented people working in various departments that have fresh perspectives and enthusiasm for the brand. Create real mentorship opportunities, not just chances for people to brown-nose senior managers.

Upper management has little to no experience in the how and what of the product the company places in front of its customers - in this case television programs and the client is the viewership.
Decisions are made on strict economic, immediate bottom line concerns which leads the company to lurch around in terms of its vision and execution.
This has a profound effect on the people tasked with actually making the product.
It also leads to an unstable environment as people are let go at every lurch of the corporate strategy.

Learned to manage corporate active directory, use KACE ticketing system for tech support, Use and maintenance of all employees cloud back-ups via CrashPlanPro. Management was nothing more than a delight! -always had a positive attitude, ALWAYS willing to help, gave honest, and situation specific feedback (both positive, and constructive)  - and is truly committed to supporting his staff advance. The most enjoyable part of the job for me was going to all the different departments and seeing all the cool offices, one minute you are fixing a problem for a designer working on the next issue! and the next you are verifying a back up for the illustrator who is responsible for the incredible scientific illustrations the magazine includes! Hardest part of the job for me was the pace, I prefer a more chaotic busy work day. :)

Every day at National Geographic differs depending on which department you're in. If you're in production, some days are fast pace and interactive. You liaise with a number of departments and third party companies. In the recent years since the FOX buyout and on the brink of the Disney buyout, management has been on a wave. Some months things progress and move forward, and then the next you're not sure if a new policy will impact your day to day assignments. The hardest part of the job is not knowing if there are more projects coming down the pipeline, which will allow you to continue working with the company. the most enjoyable part about the job for me is being able to connect with several key players throughout the country.

Working at National Geographic has a lot of shine around it, as a concept, and it's exciting to tell people you work there and people find it impressive.  I do feel like the name recognition does help if you need a name on your resume.  In general, this place has been in a constant state of reorg/change/update/strategize/restrategize for nearly a decade.  There is ZERO upward mobility unless someone they hired in 2017 to do a similar job with a higher title  happens to get laid off and they ask you to do that work instead. The Walt Disney Company is the parent company and it's FULL of bureaucracies, confusion and departments with the sole job of checking pieces of digital paper and shuffling them along to someone else.  It's a soul sucking environment and made worse by the MANDATE to return to the office 4 days a week. 

Working at National Geographic with Brain Games has been one of the most rewarding work experiences I've ever encountered. It's rare to find such a diverse group of talented individuals who are so in sync with each other's mission to create a high-quality final product. Despite the physical separations of the pre-production, production, and post teams, the workflow seemed like one cohesive family. The management was exceptional and very encouraging of creativity and advancement in roles. As an AP, I learned an extensive amount concerning not just the content, but about the entire storytelling and producing process. Everyone was always extremely friendly and helpful no matter the task at hand. Overall, an unparalleled and unforgettable experience.

I had the pleasure of working at National Geographic as a summer intern in their international publishing department. I was tasked with a broad number of projects relating to advertising placements and the contractual / legal stipulations related to said placements. I was also given the opportunity to aid in the planning of a photography exhibition event and the reorganization of departmental data systems and photo libraries. I did feel that the work environment was somewhat slow-paced (as is typical for many non-profits), but overall was generally pleased by the management and company culture.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Philanthropy manager 5 salaries reported	$113,685 per year
Security officer 2 salaries reported	$21.60 per hour
Director of partnerships 2 salaries reported	$147,700 per year
Building maintenance 3 salaries reported	$25.67 per hour
Associate general counsel 5 salaries reported	$186,225 per year

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