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      Applied Research Associates

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      Applied Research Associates reviews

      3.2

      50% would recommend to a friend

      (252 total reviews)
      avatar

      Rob Sues

      52% approve of CEO

      48% positive business outlook

      Ratings by category

      3.2

      Work/Life balance

      3.1

      Compensation and benefits

      3.0

      Senior management

      2.9

      Culture & values

      2.9

      Career opportunities

      2.8

      Diversity & inclusion

      Applied Research Associates has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 252 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Applied Research Associates employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Aerospace & Defense industry (3.6 stars).

      Ratings by demographic groups

      Reviews by job title

      252 reviews
      1.0
      Jan 25, 2023

      Beware of CEO dictatorship

      Human resources
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Awesome employees and excellent divisions level leadership! Good benefits. Employee owned ESOP benefits.

      Cons

      The CEO is only interested in his good ole boy network. He only promotes people into leadership who are east of the Mississippi. Definitely doesn’t promote people who he believes are smarter than him. He is only interested in the divisions he has knowledge in. If he doesn’t understand it, he doesn’t show interest. It certainly doesn’t matter if the division earns way more contracts/money than other divisions. Very sad that Rob Sues is still in his role at ARA! ARA’s employees would be much happier with a CEO who valued them inclusively. Rob Sues isn’t that person!

      1.0
      Jan 11, 2023

      Interesting Projects, Mediocre Compensation, Terrible Culture

      Anonymous employee
      Recommend
      CEO approval
      Business Outlook

      Pros

      Interesting projects, assuming you like defense stuff. Small business environment where everybody knows your name. Free coffee. Free cake/pizza once per month.

      Cons

      Company tolerates caustic behavior from low-level managers. Extremely high turnover - half the people I worked with there got burned out and quit within a 2-3 year window. Consistently low-ball applicants on salary offers. Opportunity for advancement/promotion sucks because the company has a "flat structure." Vesting schedule for their ESOP and 401k matching is extremely slow, so if you get burned out before 3 years and quit they can effectively keep part of your salary. If you are vested, their procedure for distributing ESOP funds is a pain. HR is unhelpful. Performance reviews are extremely subjective and give caustic managers the leeway to play favorites.

      Viewing 85 - 87 of 252 Reviews
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      ReviewsApplied Research Associates reviews

      Glassdoor has 282 Applied Research Associates reviews submitted anonymously by Applied Research Associates employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Applied Research Associates is right for you.