direct support professional

speech language pathologist

nurse

iep coordinator

registered nurse

The Guild For Exceptional Children

Worked at GEC for a few years at two of the facilities. The place was like a junior high school. The management was trash. They would act very unprofessional and actively instigate problems between staff (The staff were no better at times). I believe this was done for their own entertainment. There is a ton of nepotism at this agency. Everyone is either related or close friends, The guild would openly admit to this. If you are not related to someone there or a close friend you will not last and you will have a difficult time. There is a culture of bullying as well. 

This place has a high turnover rate. The only people that do stay are close friends or family members of other established workers and management at the guild. It was nice to take care of the residents and help them day to day, but everything else ruins it. Poor training, low wages, garbage support, and terrible managers. If you are a good worker and are not buddy buddy with the right people you will quickly burn out. There are definitely more negative aspects to this agency, but I would have to write an entire essay about it. In short, if you need the work experience and want to help individuals with special need then I would say go for it. Just make sure you do not stay too long and leave immediately after finding something better. You will most likely not last long anyway and it definitely won't be worth the stress.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Good at the beginning, but bad when you are thrown into a classroom without any supports or guidance … 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Shortage of manpower … high turnover … lack of support and guidance from inexperienced classroom teachers. Some teachers are freshly new as head teacher in classroom, lack of teaching and management skills to give directions and handle students with behaviors. Always exhausted at the end of the day… without any compliments and appreciations from classroom teachers… lack of positive energy and support … and no professionalism and passion of education in school - teachers no preparation for class — just wanna passing the days with no complain and earning the salary … and teacher do not welcome any opinions or suggestions for improvement … dictatory leadership 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Overall is a friendly environment but depends on which classroom or teacher you are in . Some classrooms are very unwelcome and in chaos while some are well organized.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
No break or even no time to breathe … with all behavior students you have to watch them to avoid safety issues every single second… super intense job …

The ONLY positives are:
* They work with your schedule (while fitting you into the predetermined schedules they have)
* They’re fairly flexible with time off
* SOME people in management are nice

The negatives are much more numerous:
* Senior management is very demanding, and unsupportive most of the time
* Management picks, and chooses, who they want to favor with different aspects (such as giving certain employees higher rates over others because they were referred by members of management, etc.)
* The pay overall is much less than what is expected for working with developmentally disabled adults
* The workload can be extreme, depending on the program you work in
* You can get written up for practically anything you do that management does not agree with
* It is very difficult to obtain full time positions (especially for new hires), despite what anyone in management says
* Most benefits are only offered to full time employees

This negative list is not all inclusive, but a summary of the most important aspects.

Proceed with extreme caution when applying to work at The Guild for Exceptional Children.

The individuals we work with are AMAZING and there is so much opportunity for overtime, but we are overworked and underpaid. Management can sometimes be toxic, unprofessional, and patronizing; which changes the vibe of the entire work place and makes everyone miserable. We are also SEVERELY understaffed, and for clients who have a harder time with mobility and should have two staff working with them/an extra staff on shift to assist, we are always told that the company “can’t afford” to put a necessary extra staff on the shift. A lot of us have hurt ourselves because of this over the years.
The higher ups in the company don’t care about the DSP’s at all, and there is so much favoritism/nepotism in the company. Most higher up positions (management, etc) is rewarded based on who is the most chummy with the right people rather than actual merit.
This company can be a good opportunity to learn and grow when you’re young, but it quickly becomes a toxic place the longer you stay here; and it can severely negatively impact your mental health, especially if you have a hard time setting your boundaries with both management and coworkers.

The Guild is a big company with 13 group homes for adults, a day program and a school for children with developmental disabilities with most of the locations being within walking distance of each other. Each house varies from high-functioning and low-functioning individuals. The workplace culture is very big and diverse with a family-like community atmosphere. In some houses, the clients can be difficult to work with, which can be mentally taxing. With that being said, this job isn't for everyone. However, it is very rewarding to work with these individuals to help them in their daily lives and coworkers have no problems assisting you or helping you out if you are having a difficult time. The clients really grow to trust you and see their homes as one big family.

I wasn't trained enough to deal with individuals who had behavoiral issues. The interview didn't tell me that i would spat on or individuals had severe seizure issues. Some of them came from Willow Broke and was still being miss treated .The workers had no training and fought with each other and the individuals.

My job was to perpare daily activies for them,goals that was agree to to at a meeting. They may count money,learn their phone number or sometime use an ipad with assiants from a direct care worker.

Management,was horrorable. The hardest part of the job was complainting to them and they did nothing. This was the worst place i ever worked at.

Rewarding job. Coworkers feel like family, though if you're new you might feel awkward, and it depends on how well you go with the flow. Some staff act like this place is high school and start petty drama, and people in this company either leave real fast or stay for decades. Which means a lot of them have known each other for years (some are even family). GEC has paid training, but minimum wage is really nothing for the amount of work you do in this job. Please also keep in mind GEC is located in Brooklyn ONLY.

It depends on the supervisor, no breaks and only 1/2 hour lunch. Bring your own lunch, you may not have the opportunity to purchase lunch. Co-workers are toxic. The hardest part of the job is not feeling supported or understood by management when you have a valid concern regarding work place. HR is non-existent. This is why co-workers are unhappy. Communication is poor. The left hand doesn't know that the right hand is doing. Inconsistent job rules. Lots of strict rules for people management don't like and laid back rules for people they do like. 

The Guild for Exceptional Children is a good agency to work for. It's difficult to have a bad day, as the work is very rewarding. However, the compensation is very low. The only group of people I can think of who can survive off of what the Guild for Exceptional Children pays are teenagers. Thus, this is the perfect first job. It provides experience in areas most other jobs never will.

the management has no control of the staff or the work that is not being completed. i learned that staff can leave for hours at a time without managers caring. the workplace culture is sad the clients are not cared for the way they should be. Many managers steal money. The hardest part was never having house hold supplies in the house. i cant say there was an enjoyable part. the clients do not have proper clothing, bedding, tooth brushes, lotions, money or snacks its sad

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 37 salaries reported	$18.25 per hour
Speech language pathologist 7 salaries reported	$71.21 per hour
Nurse 1 salary reported	$72,500 per year
Iep coordinator 2 salaries reported	$82,500 per year
Registered nurse 1 salary reported	$77,500 per year

Working at The Guild For Exceptional Children: Company Overview and Reviews

The Guild For Exceptional Children

The Guild For Exceptional Children Ratings

Popular jobs at The Guild For Exceptional Children

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected