When I got my job offer from Epic in 2010, I googled frantically to find out what life was like there. Epic’s recruiting game has gotten much stronger since 2010, but I’ve been itching to drop my perspective, chenqui.
Technology
Coming in to Epic, A case of the MUMPS was literally the only thing I knew about Epic’s stack. Yes, Epic uses some obscure technology. Despite this, my developer colleagues at Redox (100% ex-epic dev team) agree that MUMPS is pretty cool. It’s like Javascript, minus first-order functions with built-in Redis. The best part are the awesome features that Epic’s really smart developers have made with it. Programming in MUMPS at Epic is nothing like picking it up from scratch, you’re stepping into a very mature and performant enviroment. This article goes into details about some of the neater feautures.
The bottom line: Good developers get off on solving hard problems — and Epic has no shortage of them. Epic’s choice of tools will not get in your way of solving them, and that’s really what matters.
Lifestyle
There is plenty of propaganda on Epic’s website about how great of a place it is to work. The reality is that you are going to have a very different experience based on your manager (TL), your team (App), and whatever past expectations you have about a development job. This is true of any job. Google is probably doing a better job of measuring and controlling those factors than Epic, but learning to deal with these things is going to be a good life skill.
The bottom line: There is amazing cheesecake.
Life skills
The hardest parts of being a “rockstar” developer is communicating, navigating process, and learning to be a “professional” — AKA owning up to your mistakes. Slinging good code will only get you so far. Epic is a great place to learn these skills. I always felt there was way too much process at Epic, but it’s much easier to learn what works and what doesn’t when there are process experiments going on all around you. By the time you’re ready to quit and launch your startup, you’ll have a great foundation of how a company should work, as well as what to avoid.
Epic does a pretty good job of making sure their developers stay connected to their users through “immersion” trips. These will no doubt be one of the coolest experiences you’ll have at Epic — watching real people use your software.
The bottom line: A pretty good place to be young and foolish.
Life after
The jilted developer from A case of the MUMPS complains that he/she can’t find a job after Epic. Stepping out into a growing $100 Billion industry makes this kind of hard to believe.
Redox was founded by three ex-Epic rockstars. Many of my ex-Epic friends have gone on to Silicon Valley/Seattle giants. Many more have gone on to the lucrative consulting world. The demand for developers that understand healthcare problems has never been higher.
I’m hoping you have a killer app idea that you want to put on our gallery.
The bottom line: Epic is a great place to start your career. Cheers!
Photo Credit: Cap Times – Epic Systems is one of the coolest places to work, says Forbes.