Pros
None. Not worth your time.
Cons
I worked at AEA for a little more than a year as a Senior Designer. I had a difficult time feeling inspired during my time there. Annette lacks creativity and imagination and got most of her ideas from other big name designers (Stephen Gambrel and Joan Behnke) and even copied their work to the tee. I found Annette to be timid, cold, and extremely passive aggressive. Annette is a bully. She’s fake. She’s unprofessional and emotionally unstable. She treats her staff like they’re replaceable but expects them to work their butts off. Vacation hours accrue monthly but if you request time off, she holds it against you and gives you a cold shoulder. If you do something Annette doesn’t like, expect a snippy email from the part time accountant (a heavy set woman in her 70’s and a very unhappy person). All of her employees are miserable and the office is a depressing place where no one greets each other and people work quietly with their heads down. Annette didn’t seem to care too much about the company morale or the well being of her employees for that matter. Her lack of leadership, insincerity and condescending attitude created a toxic work environment and I was happy to rid myself of this place. Also, the office has very poor ventilation and the summer was brutal but staff wasn’t allowed to turn the air conditioner on because of how cheap Annette is. Tip: If you do decide to take a job here, make sure you verify employee benefits during your interview and get it in writing. If you don’t, Annette may not offer it to you later. It depends on whether she likes you and wants to invest in you. Very shady person.