Avoid IT Jobs - You're better off elsewhere - Anonymous employee Ares Management Employee Review

1.0
25 Jun 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

High Pay. Good overall benefits package (health, 401k, etc).

Cons

Ares is filled with people who cannot lead and are only concerned with growing their own empires. Culture is toxic, full of politics, passive aggressiveness and almost no accountability. Middle management is full of mediocre technical people with no demonstrated ability to manage people. Senior IT management hasn’t demonstrated any ability deliver a strategy or resolve any of the ever-plaguing organizational problems. They just run from one buzz word to the next and micromanage you when someone “important” complains. This leads to long nights, excess stress and no appreciation for the work you do.. except an obligatory $100 gift card after you've worked 4 weekends in a row. Emotional Intelligence is completely lacking. If you love wasting all your time in pointless meetings and being told what to do by people who have no clue what they are doing, usually at the last minute so you have to work late nights and weekends, then Ares is right for you. If you are a competent individual who enjoys being respected, then absolutely stay away.

Explore other reviews about Ares Management

5.0
11 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Very collaborative culture with a strong connected leadership team; a high-growth organization that provides great opportunities for performing team members - many examples of strong mobility (employees growing through promotion as well as employees moving locations and teams). I have been with the firm for more than 5 years and it has been a completely positive experience - I've grown significantly in responsibility and compensation.

Cons

Nothing that comes to mind.

2.0
8 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Prestige, Good Benefits, snacks in the fridge Some teams are very good. Ideal for someone in their 40s or 50s who is looking for stability.

Cons

All teams are different at a company of this size, but working in the middle office technology team was the worst experience of my career. Day to day work was either completely free of directive or projects would be completely blocked by bureaucracy. When a project I was working on went well, there was no celebration and when it was late or had issues there was no reflection. The culture is going into work to a cubicle to sit in zoom meeting straight from nine to five or eating lunch alone each day in a ghost town office. Other teams will speak poorly of each other and gossip. My boss's boss was a bully and would threaten people constantly. Everyone I worked with was "living the dream", overworked and bored to death but making a ton of money. Every team outing they had in three years was just a golf simulator. It just doesn't have to be like this. We've moved on from this cubicle farm company since the 90s, work should be encouraging and fun. Unless you're looking for stability above all else, you can find a better place to work.

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