Pros
I have worked in editorial positions at several other science publishers and my experience with PLOS has been the best by far. What I really like about PLOS, and what I think sets it apart from other publishers, is: - The mission. Colleagues and management genuinely care about open access and it just feels great to work for a company that cares about more than just turning a profit or delivering results to shareholders. - The office environment. Colleagues are friendly and supportive, and generous with their time and expertise. People seem to genuinely get along. PLOS also facilitates opportunities to meet with people outside of your immediate team through regular meetings and weekly social events, which helps foster collaboration and unity. - The editorial teams. PLOS is staffed by some of the smartest and hardest working people around. The workload can be intense – there is always more work than there are hours in the day, and the submissions never stop coming – but the goals are reasonable and the senior managers take steps to ensure that the workload is manageable for all editors. I’ve never before worked for a company that cares so much about employees’ work-life balance and where concerns about workload are openly discussed and acted upon. - The work. There’s a lot of it, but it’s varied and interesting. You’ll learn something new and different each day. - The management. The CEO has set a tone of openness and respect within the company. She gives updates at regular company-wide briefings but also holds open office hours to meet 1:1 with all interested employees. She has a very clear view of how she wants to see the company grow in the coming years, which she communicates regularly (and directly) to all staff members. These briefings really help reinforce how our work is contributing to success of the overall mission. Furthermore, the sense of openness and respect is readily apparent in other areas of the company – for example, human resources, who are just about the kindest and most considerate and helpful people on the planet (which has not been my experience at any other company!); and finance, who share regular updates on the company’s overall health and respond immediately to any questions regarding payroll or reimbursement. Employees are treated really well.
Cons
Science publishing in general is going through a massive upheaval, and it’s not at all clear what the landscape will look like in 5-10 years. I have a lot of confidence in our CEO and senior managers, as they’ve already made some really hard choices to help PLOS weather the uncertainty that lies ahead. Unfortunately, those hard choices have led to problems with morale in some cases. This is now a known issue and is being openly discussed, though it’s tricky to solve. Overall, I feel like PLOS is firmly on the right track, though there have been and will continue to be some bumps and diversions along the way. Additionally, as PLOS is not a massive publisher, opportunities for career advancement are a little limited once you've been in a role for a couple of years. PLOS invests heavily in personal development, so you'll develop skills that will make you an attractive candidate for positions outside of PLOS, but it's a shame that there are not more career opportunities at higher levels within PLOS. I don't think anything can be done about it, it's just a facet of working for a smaller publisher, and there are many pros to outweigh this particular con.
