proctor

customer service representative

administrator

test manager

Prometric

Run away!

The advertisement says 'Shrewsbury,' but the location is in Worcester, Massachusetts.  You won't be traveling between locations either.  

So, you got a call to interview at this location.  If you are breathing you'll likely be offered a position.  If you've accepted, you'll likely be told the number of hours they have available to work, beware, the reality is that they hire people based upon the assumption that someone is leaving.  The person who is expected to leave may not leave and you might find yourself working ten hours a week with zero hope of getting more hours, unless someone leaves.  You'll be expected to work a ten hour day with the concept of a break being a quick run to the restroom and eating at a desk.  You'd better make sure you bring your own food or have a meal delivered because you're forbidden to leave the property.  

A typical day begins with revving up the computers and hoping the candidates all show up on time.  At nine o'clock sharp you're going to be confronted by a host of people ready to begin a test.  The test people are, for the most part, pretty nice people, but there are exceptions to every rule.  Gaze over the list of tests that you'll be proctoring and look at how many hours those people will be in the office.  Your day started at 8am or a few minutes before, their day started at 9am and you're going to have people who have nine hours to complete a test, if they show up late (up to 30 minutes is allowed and you MUST seat them) and your day just got a lot longer.  So, the first batch of candidates is all seated and you hope they are working on their tests, not so fast, that's just about when the people taking the nine hour tests begin their breaks.  They all need to sign out and (typically) have their fingerprints taken, they're going to begin to get impatient.  They (typically) have forty five minutes over the course of the day to take breaks, they (usually) want to take a two or three minute break and it's up to you to not 'waste their time.'  You will eventually get stressed out over this because they can complain about you, and they will.  In between being stressed out, you'll get to walk through the testing area, and it has to be done every ten minutes.  You will be glared at while you do this.  In time you will develop a 'paranoia' over the idea that the test center may be 'secret shopped,' that is when someone poses as a test candidate and tries to cheat the system, you are graded on how well you handle this situation, and if your grade is bad it can cost you the job.  The second wave of candidates comes in during the afternoon, and the same worry persists, you have to hope and pray that they aren't late, because how late they are impacts how late you'll be stuck at the location for longer than your scheduled ten hour shift.  After the final candidate leaves, it's then your job to shut down all the computers and wipe down the debris/dirt of the day from each station.  


Remember that in most states not having any kind of scheduled break is illegal.  Accepting a position here means that you have surrendered the legal right to a break.  You are not allowed any paid sick time, nor can you just call out sick.  It is your responsibility to call your co-workers and ask if they'd be so kind as to cover your shift.  You will find yourself going to work sick because you couldn't find coverage, and if you refuse to cover for someone, you'll get a phone call from the manager demanding to know why you didn't provide coverage.  So, your free time really no longer belongs to you.  You will also be asked to provide an e-mail address, you will get e-mails from them during your free time.  The work/life balance is a joke, and the pay is not exemplary.  No health insurance or any type of benefit is offered here.  Some of the candidates are nice and want to be engaging with the staff, beware as if you are perceived as being too friendly, you will get reprimanded.  So, you aren't allowed to be nice to people either.  


This position is good if you just want a easy job to make a few dollars in the short term, and if you are soulless robot.

Prometric was a networking event in itself! I never felt bored at work and while it was repetitive, for me, it made the troubleshooting at times really convenient. When I first started, hours were slim... After a few months, I had got the hang of things and everything took off from there! I was promoted in a years time from a TCA to a TCM. I was a part of an upcoming committee, ALP (Aspiring Leaders at Prometric) that I was apart of as I acted as Communications Lead. Later, I worked as an MCAT mentor for our MCAT candidates and had the opportunities to visit our corporate office in Baltimore, MD on multiple occasions. I’ve had the opportunity to travel to San Juan, PR, Jacksonville, FL and many other places within the US. Before my departure, I was selected in a group with two other colleagues that I had come to know over the years in which the committee was known as the Class of 21 where my dreams came true to travel to Beijing, China! The bonus was flying into Seoul, South Korea where I learned more about the business and test cultures. It hurt me deeply when I decided to resign... Hours had been cut and full-time schedule became a part-time schedule. I had a great crew that I had hired on in which I’d have to sacrifice my work hours for them so that I could equally balance out the time. After a few months, I noticed it was very slow and I had an opportunity to work elsewhere with a few more perks. It wasn’t a easy decision as I was with Prometric for 6 years and had created so many connections and friendships with test takers and corporate personnel. Also, I had befriended many within the test center communities throughout our organization. However, the opportunity was a good one so I decided to take it. The only con I’d admit to is the District Managers... some are good and some were not. I know a few people personally that quit because of a DM smh... And, honestly, it had a big influence on my departure. You’d think your advancements would reflect well on your superior but the only thing I encountered was a lot of animosity and envy it seemed. I could count the amount of kudos on one hand from my DM but had a book of complaints if things went wrong smh. That doesn’t make you feel appreciated whatsoever and I grew tired of it. I dedicated 70% of my time to my job and would make it home in time to have dinner with my family... I was there from sunrise till sunset... missed a lot of time with my family so to have a DM that didn’t seem to appreciate that really rubbed me the wrong way.

Easy work, very routine. The people I worked with were uneducated and felt threatened by those who had superior skills and experience. 
Some customers were wonderful and made the everyday struggle worth it. Other times, you would get extremely patronizing customers who treated you like the dirt they walk on.

If gossip, slander, and high school games are fun to you...then this job is for you.

I am sure some test centers are worse than others. The one I worked at was run down and "managed" by an individual who hired her buddies. It was like they took turns on which employee they would alienate and push out. The work culture here is very school girl like and unorganized. Often, the blame game would be the solution to everything. "We don't like Billy so lets nit pick and gossip about him". If someone wasn't being targeted, no one was happy. In the several months I been there, I have seen numerous people being picked on. News flash, this is NOT how you run a business. It is okay though...these kind of people have nothing else to hope for. The rest of us have other options. 

This company wants cold and mechanical people to work here. Have bills to pay? Have experience and education? Prometric is not for you. This job is good if you are willing to give up your life and self respect. High school grads and people living at home bill free would be ideal for this position. You cannot live off of meager wages and nonexistent work hours. Ironically, 4 out of 5 employees I worked with either lived rent free or had significant assistance financially. I felt I was the only one actually roughing it out solely on this income. 

Please, do yourself a favor and work anywhere but here. At the time, I took the gig because it put a little money (and I mean little) on the table. Looking back, I should have held out and waited for something better. They didn't deserve to have me there by any means. What is this Country coming to? People with skills and experience shouldn't have to beg for a job that a monkey could do! I was just looking for some bill money and resume fillers. Not worth the stress and agony.

Poor management, low pay, long hours, chaotic schedule, favoritism, no career advancement. Always having to work Saturdays.

Just some of the reasons to avoid Prometric. During the slow time of the year(winter months) test centers are usually only open 2 to 3 days a week.  Typically the center is open Monday, Friday and Saturday as those are the days people like to test. Other days open up as demand increases. Saturdays are pretty much mandatory.

The hours are long but the job is easy. With decent co-workers and management the job wouldn't be so bad. However with drama from co-workers and management, the job should be considered cruel and unusual punishment.  

Lots of turnover. The manager is often not on site, shirking duties and expecting the more experienced staff to pick up the slack. When people slack off or blatantly break policy(like falsify their time card) management tries to brush it under the rug. 

The schedule is supposed to be set at least two weeks out. Key phrase, "supposed to". The schedule was a chaotic mess my whole tenure. My manager would constantly change the schedule even up to the day before, even if no one requested off or needed to swap shifts. To this day I don't know why she does this, perhaps she has ocd or something. The fact that even though it's part-time work, and you are expected to be available even when you're not scheduled, exasperates this. A former co-worker called Prometric "the most full-time, part-time job she has ever had". The term "work-life balance" is not in Prometric's vocabulary. 

Also, the starting pay is laughable. When I started, the starting pay was $13 an hour. With sick and vacation days. At about 8 months of being there, they revised their new hire policy. And not in a good way. They lowered the starting pay to $11 an hour and took away vacation and sick days for new hires. Who does that? Prometric corporate wonders why there is such a problem with retention, but doesn't want to accept their policies are the reason. At the same time they blame the individual test center managers to fix the problem.

I believe the company's hiring process is fair. Each applicant is screened, tested and selected based upon his/her education, skills and exam performance. Depending upon the position applied for, the applicant is tested and judged primarily upon his/her superior test score.

In terms of employer/employeee interaction, I believe management makes substantial efforts to communicate with its subordinates throughout the hiring and active employment processes. However, after the final stages of administering exams, and returning exam materials, I believe Prometrics supervisors should provide immediate verbal feedback to its company exam administrators, or testing consultants. The success of the entire operation depends upon the skills, aptitude and dependability of people like myself who are trained and paid to register and guide exam candidates throughout each step of this highly complex process. The success of each candidate depends upon the adept execution of my leadership skills as their supervisor.

This is why I believe the company should maintain open lines of communication with its testing consultants throughout his/ her employment with Prometric--regardless if his/her status is permanent or temporary. In so doing, the professional testing consultant can easily gain personal satisfaction and the reassurance of knowing he/she has done a great job before their written issuance of our evaluation. I feel the month long waiting period for our scorecard performance assessment is stressfully too long.

Still, the salary is outstanding; compensation for the purchase of additional supplies is rewarded and the wait between task performance and receipt of payment for services rendered is reasonable.

I was hired (and I believed) to work a certain number of part-time hours. In fact, after I'd subjected myself to the most invasive background check I've ever experienced, accepted the position and gone through the week-long training, it was then, and only then, that I discovered the hours I worked depended on the number of clients booked for tests. In other words, some weeks I would have as little as 3 hours, and other weeks I could have as much as 20. But that wasn't the worst part. The worst part was that, even while everyone in the testing room and I was stuck alone at the reception desk, I was not ALLOWED to use the internet, read a book or magazine, do anything BUT SIT THERE. FOR HOURS. It was awful!!

And my co-workers? Oh, what a pack they were. In the same boat as me, scrambling for hours, dog-eat-dog. But they were all full-time, with benefits. I was the threat at the bottom of the pile. And they let me know it in no uncertain terms.

Oh, and the training -- on the computer and which I passed with flying colors. Then went to work and discovered my co-workers were "doing whatever". They did not follow many of the protocols, and chided me for wanting to. So what's the use of being trained when no one follows the rules.

Since we're in Wisconsin the customers were generally friendly and cheerful, and there were even some that we got to know because of the series of tests they had to take for their jobs. The worst customers were the doctors. They were generally arrogant and belligerent, especially when going through the body screening.

Side note -- the entire time you're working, you're being monitored and recorded by cameras. I'm not sure who's watching, or where they were, but the cameras are everywhere (except the bathrooms). I didn't exactly have a problem with that -- but some others might.

I would not recommend Prometric to ANYONE! 

The most enjoyable part of the job? When I finally quit and walked away.

I truly enjoy the work I do.  I feel appreciated by my supervisors.   However I  don't feel the same way about the company.  
 As with ALL companies they call the employees the backbone of the company.  Yet treat the employees like they are easily replaced.  Company is that would rather see quantity over quality work.  When a company sets how many items to do per hour, they lose quality work.
 If company executives would start paying the backbone of the company as they truly are through better pay and benefits.   It translates into a better quality of work, more dependable employees,  better customer service,  more productivity, less missed time. That would translate into a better company name, more business and higher bonuses for the big wigs.
  When employees  don't feel appreciated or are under paid. They are constantly worried about how they can  meet their bills, and provide for their families.  That turns into higher turnover,  loss if productivity higher missed time, and an impact on the company name and reputation.  The company suffers. 

 I see coworkers sleeping, searching the web for personal thing's,  talking on their personal phones, and socializing. I also see other coworkers doing their jobs, always there when they are scheduled to be there, only away from there desks when on scheduled breaks. They do quality work over quantity.  Yet they get the same pay as the employees that aren't doing the same.   No wonder good employees are always looking for a company that pays better for the same work.  At those other companies the employees can just focus on data entry. Instead of data entry and answering phones. That stops processing until the calls are over. Yet the company still expects the employee to make a set number of applications processed per hour.  If a company focuses on quality work they get the best work from the employees. 

MONTHLY PAYCHECKS only (which is difficult with a low wage), no benefits, no time off, no breaks for employees allowed, ever, no lunch-breaks allowed, ever, and people generally hate it here and they treat customers terribly as well.  It’s a rotating door, at all levels, employees and middle-management alike.  After employees are hired, they are then informed only afterwards about the monthly paychecks, and then they feel mad, and then they look for another job, and then they leave within 2 months…always.  The management refuses to change this, even tho they've been informed.  The workers tend to resent the management because the management has a closed-door policy and refuses to talk to employees directly, so you must contact them through a proxy.  They show up around 11 am every day and leave around 4 pm, and for Christmas, they will give you a single piece of chocolate for your bonus.  The management treats employees like they are unworthy, and the employees hate the management for this, and the management keeps on doing the same things of course.  80% of all the employees who have worked here within the last 3 months have left!!!  80% in 3 months?!?!  Something is wrong, this place is a burning ship!

Normally I’d say that a job doing nothing is an alright thing, but it’s so terrible here that I am absolutely done with this nonsense.  It’s a fake company, with no HR department and no district manager, and it just stinks rotten like a place with extremely poor management and it doesn't care.  They hide behind fake smiles and then give you mean behaviors and monthly paychecks.

This was one of the more relaxed jobs I've had. Really loved the people I worked with and I appreciated the wonderful management team and owner. Most of the time you are just watching over the candidates on a grid of cameras for any signs of cheating, and to assist any of them with various needs. There are chaotic and stressful periods where you are assisting dozens of candidates at once, and it can get quite tense when there are technical issues that don't get resolved immediately, but most of the time the off-site Helpdesk support is very quick to get things working with minimal downtime. 

As far as job duties go it can get a bit boring sometimes to be honest. I learned most of what I would be doing in the first few weeks (which felt like a lot and was confusing at the time; though your experience here may vary depending on how they go about the training process and who does it). After that it was autopilot other than updating some of the test procedures occasionally. Overall I felt like I was doing something important and it was nice seeing candidates pass their test and further their careers. Many of them are extremely grateful to the staff, but we did deal with a Karen or two on occasion. 

Main drawback is the inconsistent hours from month to month and little room for growth considering there are only a few positions. The office I was at had the same managing team for decades so i assume it paid decently in those positions but I don't know for sure. The entry level position I was in paid slightly higher than min wage and provided only one very small raise in the year I worked there. 

When I started at Prometric, it seemed to be a very relaxed and pleasant environment. Their number one quote is how tranparent they are. The offices were clean, modern, and everyone stayed busy. Yet there was an uneasy feeling as I was in constant meetings, but lacked guidance. I was employed for one month and a half, but trained less because of my assigned time off, trainers sick time off, trainers assigned time off, trainers bereavement time off, and our holiday time off. I was trained by an employee who was working in her new position she was promoted to (due to someone leaving) right before I started, which her former position was the one I was hired for. She had limited time to properly train me because she was torn between meeting goals and tasks in her new position. There was no backup or anyone else placed to help in training for a very detailed and extensive position working alongside the IRS. My supervisor/director was nice, yet admitted she did not know all tasks involved in the position I was handling or how to do the countless spreadsheets. I was told after a month in a half, I was on my own. Within one week of being on my own, I was dismissed. I was told I was not learning fast enough and because I did not lead on a conference call, I only sat in on once before. This job did not provide a probational period, and adequate training. Keep in mind I actually loved what I was assigned to do, even though it was extremely detailed and complicated. I felt that I could master this job in time. Well time did not exist with this staff. False hope to say the least. Don't waste your time as I did believing that this was the ideal workplace.

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