May have an opportunity to become a sales rep for the company. Most posts look wildly negative. Is it that bad?
Is this job that bad?
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Yes. Great technology but your QOL will suffer. Its a "what have you done for me today" mentality. It could also depend on what region you are in, I hear different stories from people in different regions. I know that almost everyone in the west have been chewed up and spit out. I was there 3 years ago, and I think there are only 2-4 people still there.
Is this job that bad? Well, that depends on how you describe bad.
Most reps last 18 to 24 months TOPS and will be micro-managed day in and day out. Expect 3 to 4 conference calls per week (starting at 5:00 of course), and your manager calling you 2 to 3 times per day asking how many cases have you added and getting second guessed on every decision you make. The Urology market is saturated (there is no one left to train) and the big push is now on GYN. The problem is the GYNs that are left to train do not do more than 15 cases per year and have no business on the robot. When you are forced to sell your soul and train them (keep in mind the growth is 20% PER QUARTER), so you don’t have a choice but to train them, they end up doing a few cases, then quite and you have wasted 3 months of your time trying to get them on the technology.
The managers use fear and intimidation and do not have enough to do - they typically manage no more than 4 reps at a time and end up harassing you from 7 am to 7 pm. Expect 3 day field rides every 2 weeks, the equivalent of a stay in a Turkish prison. Hospital executives HATE the company because of all the false promises and unethical sales practices to sell the robot in the first place.
The money in not what is used to be. Typical clinical reps make anywhere between $180 and $200K per year. They sell the comp plan at $220K which is not realistic and requires you to hit 3 out of 4 quarters, and they remaining quarter needs to be in the 90% range. Managers will tell you they have reps that made $300K last year, keep in mind that is with stock options they sold during that year. Reps coming in now won’t have the benefit of cashing in on the options with the current stock price. The time to be with this company was 4 years ago when the money was worth the headache.
From a QOL standpoint, keep looking. If you are making decent $$ now, this gig is not worth it. You’ll work 80 hour weeks, your wife and kids will forget what you look like, and you’ll be looking for another job in 6 months. Do your homework; tell the manager you want to talk with reps on their team that has been here longer than 2 years. Also, talk with current da Vinci surgeons. Call the OR and ask which surgeons are using the technology and go meet with them to get their opinion on the market and it’s potential. And BTW, everything you have read on this board is spot on!
Most reps last 18 to 24 months TOPS and will be micro-managed day in and day out. Expect 3 to 4 conference calls per week (starting at 5:00 of course), and your manager calling you 2 to 3 times per day asking how many cases have you added and getting second guessed on every decision you make. The Urology market is saturated (there is no one left to train) and the big push is now on GYN. The problem is the GYNs that are left to train do not do more than 15 cases per year and have no business on the robot. When you are forced to sell your soul and train them (keep in mind the growth is 20% PER QUARTER), so you don’t have a choice but to train them, they end up doing a few cases, then quite and you have wasted 3 months of your time trying to get them on the technology.
The managers use fear and intimidation and do not have enough to do - they typically manage no more than 4 reps at a time and end up harassing you from 7 am to 7 pm. Expect 3 day field rides every 2 weeks, the equivalent of a stay in a Turkish prison. Hospital executives HATE the company because of all the false promises and unethical sales practices to sell the robot in the first place.
The money in not what is used to be. Typical clinical reps make anywhere between $180 and $200K per year. They sell the comp plan at $220K which is not realistic and requires you to hit 3 out of 4 quarters, and they remaining quarter needs to be in the 90% range. Managers will tell you they have reps that made $300K last year, keep in mind that is with stock options they sold during that year. Reps coming in now won’t have the benefit of cashing in on the options with the current stock price. The time to be with this company was 4 years ago when the money was worth the headache.
From a QOL standpoint, keep looking. If you are making decent $$ now, this gig is not worth it. You’ll work 80 hour weeks, your wife and kids will forget what you look like, and you’ll be looking for another job in 6 months. Do your homework; tell the manager you want to talk with reps on their team that has been here longer than 2 years. Also, talk with current da Vinci surgeons. Call the OR and ask which surgeons are using the technology and go meet with them to get their opinion on the market and it’s potential. And BTW, everything you have read on this board is spot on!
I was just let go two weeks ago. I have been a good rep for past 2 and a half years, I missed my quarterly number 4 times, with 2 of those quarters missing my overall # by 4 cases or less. Sad thing about all of this is that I didn't see this coming. I thought that if I was in trouble, I would be put on a performance improvement plan or something.
Intuitive has great technology, but I have now come to realize is that they really don't care about their people. Previous post spells everything out correctly. I am very perplexed what is going on with Intuitive, not only was I let go, there has also been at least 10 reps that I know that have been let go in the last 2 months, along with mangers and VP's being demoted.
Intuitive was a fun ride, and worth the stress on my personal life as I have made some good money, and have grown my skill sets as a rep If you are looking at Intuitive, make sure you look at it from all angles. I agree with previous post on talking with surgeons and hospitals to understand real opportunity.
Best,
Former ISRG rep
Intuitive has great technology, but I have now come to realize is that they really don't care about their people. Previous post spells everything out correctly. I am very perplexed what is going on with Intuitive, not only was I let go, there has also been at least 10 reps that I know that have been let go in the last 2 months, along with mangers and VP's being demoted.
Intuitive was a fun ride, and worth the stress on my personal life as I have made some good money, and have grown my skill sets as a rep If you are looking at Intuitive, make sure you look at it from all angles. I agree with previous post on talking with surgeons and hospitals to understand real opportunity.
Best,
Former ISRG rep
Ex-isrg here. It's been about 4 years since I was there. Spent 2 years at ISRG. It's a great technology but it's like any other high growth new tech company. They will chew you up and spit you out at all costs. They drive the device/tech to every single application and do not care that they are shaving 10 years off of your life, driving you to the edge of insanity, etc. It's a great learning experience as it develops skill sets you can take with you anywhere. But it also is a great experience to truly understand and realize what's important in life, and it's not the money. I'm grateful for the money I made there, what I learned there, and grateful for being fired. It helped me realize that life is more than just a paycheck. Good luck and best wishes. You will do just fine!
I appreciate the honest responses...My current QOL isnt great....do a ton of overnights...So I would prefer to work a lot of hours but no overnights! And I would be happy at 150K, but I want confidence to know that I wont be fired at the drop of the hat.
You will still do overnights with Intuitive. You'll have trainings, observations and meetings that won't be in your back yard. I would advice you to keep looking, I've been here for 2 years now and have been aggressively looking for a new opportunity. 1/2 my training class has either quit or been fired.
It is a shame that this company is run the way it is and continues to be so toxic. Why a company would choose to be like this is beyond me. Eventually, it will be its downfall.
Toxic is a good word for this culture. I have been here for a few years and have often sung the praises of the company (yes even on this board). However, I have seen too many great people get fired or leave this company to hold a high opinion of it anymore.
This company is half great and half horrible. The technology and the ability to work with staff and surgeons to increase minimally invasive surgery is incredible. Management on the other hand is awful. It is a culture of EXTREME micromanagement and fear and is only getting worse because of the people they promote with these characteristics. Most leave or get fired in the first 1.5 years as many of us have looked back at our training classes and realized at least half were gone by this time. The few of us that are still around are constantly getting our jobs threatened or fearful of being fired. Be mindful this is while you are working 70-80 hours, traveling to trainings and working marketing events on weekends.
If you are single and want to make good money for a year, maybe two with an incredible amount of stress this might be a good job for you. However, if you love your spouse and/or kids or have any other interests outside of your job do not come to this nightmare.
This company is half great and half horrible. The technology and the ability to work with staff and surgeons to increase minimally invasive surgery is incredible. Management on the other hand is awful. It is a culture of EXTREME micromanagement and fear and is only getting worse because of the people they promote with these characteristics. Most leave or get fired in the first 1.5 years as many of us have looked back at our training classes and realized at least half were gone by this time. The few of us that are still around are constantly getting our jobs threatened or fearful of being fired. Be mindful this is while you are working 70-80 hours, traveling to trainings and working marketing events on weekends.
If you are single and want to make good money for a year, maybe two with an incredible amount of stress this might be a good job for you. However, if you love your spouse and/or kids or have any other interests outside of your job do not come to this nightmare.
What everyone is saying on here is spot on. I left ISI in December after being there over 2.5 years. I took a minor pay cut and picked up a 6 state territory, but I couldn't be happier. There were 30 people in my training class and there are about 7 people left. In the past year, 7 people have quit (reps, managers, capital reps) just in my city alone.....5 of them didn't even have jobs lined up. When you have a family to support and you are jumping ship before even having another opportunity lined up, you know it's bad!
Ran into one of your managers...and I can know see where all your comments are coming from...unreal
Why is everyone so surprised by this "culture" ? look at where most of the senior management team came from.
1+1=?
1+1=?
Where is most of the senior management team from?
As a current JnJ employee, if your management came from us, you are totally and completely screwed! I was looking at the opportunity in my market until I saw this posting.