Not the right place to begin a scientific career
Pros
- The benefits are quite good - insurance, 401k matching, tuition reimbursement for grad school; better than most I've seen - A lot of resources, which comes with a big company. If you need to purchase something large or small to do your job better, it is no problem to get it. - Opportunities for international travel to Germany
Cons
- The culture, at least in my group, was not conducive to productivity. A lot of competition/secrecy where collaboration SHOULD have been easy. - No mid-level scientist positions. Either you have a PhD and are a manager, or have any other background and are a "technician" (not kidding, that's what the casual term is) - Managers seem to have little to no training on managing people, and they get away with a lot of shady/unprofessional behaviors. No one is willing to speak up due to fear of retaliation - Junior lever scientists (technicians) sit in the lab all day, that's where their desks are. This to me is an exposure risk, and also doesn't provide much possibility to have coffee/water/snacks throughout the day. This may sound trivial, but I ended up chronically dehydrated. - Performance evaluation is 100% subjective. It is only based on the opinion of your manager and his peers. They make you fill out goals and development plans but when it comes to the calibration meetings, it is just people throwing out their opinions that determines your rating.