Disorganized and potentially toxic -- proceed with caution
Pros
Casual work culture, potentially interesting projects,
Cons
There seems to be a bit of a divide between scientists and engineers. As an engineer, I often felt like more of a tool at the disposal of scientists rather than an employee with thoughts and feelings to voice. On more than one occasion, I was assigned to a project for which I lacked the appropriate skills, even after voicing my concerns. Generally, I am very willing to learn new skills to accomplish tasks, but considering the amount of time I was given and the scope of the projects, I felt like I was set up for failure. Projects are often poorly planned, too ambitious, and lack direction. As a result, I was often expected to work extra hours at the ends of projects to try and compensate for the poor planning at the beginning. Project leads often failed to communicate all the details of projects to me, leaving me with a fragmented view of the end goal. People often work and send emails over the weekend, setting the expectation that I do the same. When I gave my two weeks notice, I was met with passive aggressiveness and felt largely ignored and even a bit antagonized as I tried to finish up my remaining work.
