Chied Architect @ crossover - Chief Software Architect Crossover for Work Employee Review

3.0
Nov 21, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Because I just got accepted in the marketplace as a chief .net architect, I can't say what are the real benefits from a subjective point of view. But since then, I read a lot about crossover, they gave me food for thought.

Cons

After a lot of meditation, I realized some important things but in order to understand, you have to step back and think about to a very similar business: cloud computing. If we apply the analogy, we (contractors) are the resources. Crossover acts as the cloud provider (like Amazon, Google, e.t.c.) and the client is the one who make a deal with crossover. Well, everything looks shine until you think a little bit about resources: - In order to sustain usability spikes, a cloud provider should overprovision resources (they need them in a pool but held shut down). This is EXACTLY what is happening with us, contractors for crossover. The aquisition price for resources are the tournaments that they sustain in cities around the globe. Sadly this comes with a reality: the chance that you will have a contract is low. How low? I would say around 50% of your time. I don't know but let me say this: I have a friend which is in their market place as a .net software architect for a full year but he still didn't get a job. Me, I am still waiting (and there are more then 2 weeks since I wait) - Okay this is more delicate: Think about how resources are treated in the cloud. When the client does not need anymore a resource or he wants an upgrade, he just dispose the current resource and he replace it with the new one. Well, that hurts ... But you will tell me this: the income is high enough and you afford to live in your "downtimes" when you are in the marketplace. Sadly this is not true. To be honest, the correct price (if they want me fully dedicated) should be at least 50% above the average price that a person with my experience earn in the market. This is a fair price to pay as a customer that use the cloud if you want the luxury to say goodbye to anyone, anytime you want. To have an analogy, In Amazon, if you use a resouce full time, in the end will be much more expensive than the on premises version. The trick is that the client cuts the costs by using the machine only when needed. But in that case the customer pays the right price. - Thirdly, think about obsolete resources: you will be disposed from the "cloud" once they consider you obsolete in their marketplace :)

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Crossover for Work Response
8y
Thank you for taking the time to write us feedback. We take all feedback seriously and rest assured that we are working on ways to improve the system in Crossover and our candidates experience once they get accepted into the Marketplace. Currently, there is a team who is handling all the concerns of partners in all aspects, especially in getting their assignment secured in Crossover. We believe that with all the initiatives and efforts our teams are putting in, to ensure we have happy partners, will be helpful moving forward. If you have any other feedback or wish to connect, please feel free to email us further at feedback@crossover.com. Thank you!

Explore other reviews about Crossover for Work

5.0
Sep 26, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

great company to work for, salary on time

Cons

Demanding work and expects excellence

2
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Crossover for Work Response
8mo
Glad to hear it’s a great fit and that pay’s been smooth. And yes—the bar is high by design. Thanks for the 5 stars and for leaning into the challenge.
2.0
Jul 30, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Crossover does require work from home. For many, this is a good thing and, for me, helped productivity. The salary is good, but depending upon your country's tax situation it might not be as good as it seems on the surface.

Cons

Where do I start? I tried to be objective with my 2-star rating; Crossover isn't unethical or stealing from their employees or anything like that. However, for a seasoned professional, be warned... I joined in one of the Very High Dollar executive-level positions being driven by their desire to acquire 50+ companies in the near term. I'm in the US. As such (and I knew this going in), the tax consequences for being a contractor are non-trivial. There's also the consideration that you must fund any perks yourself - healthcare, retirement, etc. While the salary is generous enough to do that, it's not as shiny as it seems on the surface. Your mileage may vary depending upon your home country. What I really disliked: Constant tracking/ justification of work stream. Seriously. As others have pointed out, it's difficult to actually *get* credit for a full work week without working extra. Especially in some of the higher-level, more 'creative' positions such as architect, product management, etc. there's minimal or no opportunity to review or think over things. For me, I work in bursts followed by small distractions in which I'm running the problems in the background of my thoughts. A variety of coworkers and management in my history have almost universally commented about the volume of good work I produce. Even my peers at Crossover had no problem with the quantity or quality of my production. However, their tracking software and systems simply don't credit anything other than linear, constant "work". This was bad for me, resulting in me working extra, reworking things as I attempting to change my processes, "faking" it, or simply working longer to attempt to make my hours. I also felt bad for some of the more junior or "factory" positions. It really is tracked by the minute, with lots of incentive to find "problems" with productivity. This is really a thinly-veiled method of wringing blood out of a turnip, by finding flaws or gaps and essentially docking pay. Yeah, the salaries are good but the amount of ancillary work that goes into making "real" hours is awful, and I felt like a chump contributing to it. I had to quit for my sanity.

1585
avatar
Crossover for Work Response
7y
We appreciate your review. Our wages are paid in USD, so it's not going to be as competitive in high tech markets like San Francisco or Boston in the United States where software development is ultra-competitive. However, wages for the same jobs are very competitive in other US cities and outside the US. Sometimes these wages can be 5-6x the local average. Our business model is unique and isn't for everyone. We aren't trying to be like everyone else. The future of work is being redefined. We pride ourselves in being a pioneer in this new paradigm. If you want to know more about this work model, you can read about it here: https://medium.com/@crossoverforwork/the-factory-model-enabling-massive-scale-across-business-functions-98b18ad574f8
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