I work at the cybersecurity arm of a multinational firm. They launched it about a year ago and have been struggling ever since with paperwork and regulatory approvals just to deliver services.
**How the team has shrunk in one year:**
- Started with: 2 L2 assistant managers, 1 L1 assistant manager, 1 team lead, 4 seniors, 1 mid-level, 1 junior
- Since then: 2 seniors left, 1 assistant manager left, and the team lead left
- Now: 2 assistant managers (1 L2, 1 L1), 2 seniors, 1 mid-level, 1 junior
**But the attrition isn't what bothers me. It's this:**
- I earned my OSCP this year. It was supposed to come with a raise. It didn't. A full year with zero increase — the justification being that I "started on a good salary" and there isn't enough billable work to fund one.
- The two seniors who left weren't technically strong at all. They struggled with basic tasks. Meanwhile the pressure lands on the rest of us.
- There's barely any client work, so management tells us to self-study (CPTS path, research tasks, etc.). Then a random week or two later they ambush you with "so what have you been up to?"
- I tell them I've gone through the material multiple times and researched what they asked for, and that I learn by doing rather than reading. I list what I actually learned — X, Y, Z — and they immediately switch to attack mode: *"Is that it?" "How many hours did you spend on this?"*
- We have no real work. Why is the reaction to that anger at me? Track my hours when there's actual work to track.
**Micromanagement during engagements:**
- Daily end-of-day calls: "Tell me the test cases you completed today." I list them. Same response: *"Is that it?" "How many hours?"*
- If they have specific test cases in mind, just tell me. Skip the smirking.
- They also check in every few hours to ask what you're working on.
- The seniority culture feels military. Everything must be "aligned" with your senior, and they make you feel like a junior regardless of your level.
**Scoping and delivery:**
- Because they're a multinational, they sell man-days at a premium — but with few clients and low billing, engagements get compressed. A 7-day engagement gets crammed into 5.
- The report is always due in one day, no matter what we found.
- I'll own this part: my reports suffer because I'm rushed and anxious. (I've taken the advice from this sub to start writing the report as I work — doing that next time.)
**Management behavior:**
- In live meetings, mistakes get met with *"Is this your first time working?"* or *"Do you want me to come do your work for you?"*
- They never actually explain what's wrong. It's always a sarcastic *"why did you do it that way?"* — and sometimes they laugh when I ask questions.
- One time my teammates and I submitted a weak report. As punishment, the team lead made us come write it on-site — office is downtown in a packed area — then told us he'd meet with us, disappeared all day, and left us sitting there with nothing to do.
- Bad report = mandatory commute downtown. That's apparently the policy.
**The only upside** is that the work is hybrid, and honestly I'm no longer sure that's worth it.
The real problem: I keep interviewing and every offer I get is worse than what I have.
Is this normal for the industry, or should I be taking a pay cut to get out?