AFTERNOON/EVENING HOURS DURING WEEKDAYS:
Because piano education is considered an extracurricular, the start of your teaching time is around 2pm to 3pm Pacific and the end time can depend on the amount of students you have. My end time for most of the previous 2 years has been 9:30pm Pacific. Though the scheduling of your classes has a bit of flexibility, this does mean that Friday nights are also a part of the job description.
This is, unfortunately, just the reality of the situation as most of the student population is from the West Coast and the company is based in the West Coast. Though the ROI (return on investment [of your time for salary]) might be higher as an East Coast employee, it also means slightly strange hours due to the time difference. If you live in Hawaii, this might actually be considered a pro as the time difference means a mid morning start time and early evening end time to your work day. So it really depends.
FRAMEWORK-ORIENTED/LACK OF REFINEMENT:
Typical of a start-up company, the framework has been set in place and a lot of the refinement/detail-oriented work to make the overall structure of the company and service of the school is happening right now. This means the usual confusion that comes with the growing pains of a start-up. Some of these refinements to the program happen only after a large loss or "accident" prompts a reaction.
BLURRY BOUNDARIES:
Though this issue is continuing to be resolved, the boundary between personal life and professional life is a bit blurry. It is also difficult when a member of upper management takes issue with you as there is not active HR system for employees as of the end of 2023.
There is also a tendency to overwork employees for the sake of "productivity" when efforts could be going towards refining the company and program as a whole. In my last few months at Oclef, I did begin to feel a sense of burning out. The pressure to produce teaching materials in a certain amount of time helped to create some gems, but also in my opinion, is not sustainable in the longterm. The focus should be teaching, as that was the role we were hired into.
COMMUNICATION COULD BE BETTER:
Given that everyone in the company is busy, it is easy to see how things can be miscommunicated or not communicated at all across the company. There have been efforts to alleviate this issue, but it is crucial that this is addressed soon. There were a few instances of "I heard that you heard that he said..." The expectations regarding certain projects could have been expressed more clearly and a more realistic timeline should have been considered for projects.
VERY STEEP LEARNING CURVE:
This job is not recommended for those who are close-minded or have difficulty with technology as it is. Oclef is on the frontier of piano pedagogy, really pushing into the future of piano education, so a lot of the current staff have had to internalize certain aspects of the company culture, the company structure, and tips/tricks to succeed in their roles. It is truly rewarding when you get to a point where it all clicks, but it does take a rather grueling climb up. The best way to succeed to is to connect with current employees and ask for help. The good news is that if you stick to it, the every-day-teaching with give you ample supply of times to try again.