Pros
I started at Fontis with a strong theoretical background and feel gracious to have been given the opportunity to further develop my practical software engineering skills. Being a small business with a flat organisational structure, there is ample ability to take initiative and work independently in lots of different areas across the business, as well as being able to approach management as peers and effect real change. I found the strong technical leadership and commitment to high quality development to be almost a unique experience. The guidance I was given allowed me to grow as a developer, which in turn meant that I was able to give back by performing at a higher level. For graduates or less experienced web developers, working at Fontis is really a great opportunity to quickly develop real world experience across a complex application. The strong continual improvement and adoption of latest tools and techniques, varied and interesting work, fast moving growth industry with constant new challenges, all mean that even those more experienced are pushed to develop themselves further. While there was never a dull moment, I worked mostly regular hours with no pressure to do more. Given the strong team atmosphere I was happy to volunteer extra time on the odd occasion when overtime was required.
Cons
High technical standards can be demanding and may be an adjustment for some, but commitment is to becoming better developers. Agency work is fast-paced and this might not suit everyone, need to be pretty organised, be able to keep multiple balls in the air and keep timesheets - this requires some diligence and organisation to keep on top of. Unlike a larger organisation, everyone's individual contributions are more visible, which in the beginning can be difficult until one feels more settled in and has the chance to shine. Clients can also be difficult to deal with sometimes, and often there is a need to manage expectations and communicate technical information in a non-technical way which is a "soft" developer skill that not everyone may find easy.
