Program built off the backs of corps members! - Anonymous employee City Year Employee Review

1.0
May 25, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Relationships you build with students and other corps members

Cons

Treated as less than volunteers although technically you work as employees. If there's a death in your family or an illness you are expected to either use your "12" days to leave or take a 5 day minimum leave with NO pay. Forced to work 11 sometimes 12 hour days and teach an after-school program that is inefficient and on a steady decline in terms of attendance. You are forced to be puppets for donors and potential sponsors, collect data, act as guinea pigs for several new things they want to implement on the students. They also value data and donations over the students and corps members. You're responsible for your own housing in a city with the most expensive housing yet only paid $5 an hour! Staff is incompetent and horrible at communication! The higher ups are oblivious to what the students of East San Jose need along with what generates an effective corps. They burn you out and cause mental breakdowns. STAY AWAY IF YOU ARE NOT GOOD AT HIGH STRESS OR PEOPLE WHO CARE NOTHING ABOUT YOU.

Explore other reviews about City Year

5.0
Apr 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Well-organized/structured Transportation, healthcare, and AmeriCorps benefits Lots of teambuilding

Cons

Long days Uniforms A lot of professional development

1.0
Feb 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

if you put up with a year of lies, burnout, empathy fatigue from working with kids you can’t save, below minimum wage, then you can get a lot of money at the end.

Cons

they use the fact that you care about these kids to get you to put up with any and everything. that 900 something dollar check is basically 10 dollars an hour while you have to be an english and math tutor to multiple students, emotionally support them. mind you majority of these kids are experiencing poverty, several grades behind their reading and math level, extremely syndications home lives. these kids go through more than the average adult and you didn’t sign up to be a therapist. they are vague during the interview about the task and what you’re actually doing for a reason. so many other task and responsibilities. mangement does not care about you at all. they won’t care if you get injured, they won’t try to defend you to outside sources. i won’t ever get over how my school had teachers telling them kids they would never amount to anything, wouldn’t graduate, got called slurs, yet we stayed there, basically had to “turn the other cheek” and “be the lights” in the school….. majority of the people you work with WILL QUIT because who would want to stay in an environment like this. but majority of the people that leave will be black. that’s very telling.

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