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Charles River Associates

Engaged Employer

Charles River Associates reviews

4.0

74% would recommend to a friend

(603 total reviews)
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Paul Maleh

71% approve of CEO

70% positive business outlook

Charles River Associates has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 603 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Charles River Associates employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Management & Consulting industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

603 reviews
1.0
Sep 18, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This economic consulting firm is very very horrible and has almost no pros unless you want to destroy your career or be exploited like many international employees and treated like working cows.

Cons

1. Absolutely avoid their “Labor and Employment practice, including their Bryan, TX and Tallahassee,FL offices. They're so horrible! I've heard numerous horror stories and experiences from colleagues working in that practice and those offices. This consulting firm has serious management issues, especially with some VPs with PhD in economics (especially one whose first name begins with "V"). Their management skills are abysmal, completely disregarding employee concerns and treating them like cash cows and work cows. Their management is severely biased and lacks any regard for fairness and justice. It's a profound irony. 2. They hire too many international employees, who require company-sponsored work visas, allowing them to exploit them with impunity. Their pay is among the lowest in the industry, and their hours are among the longest. If you want this kind of treatment, they're your best choice. 3. Their human resources management is completely ineffective and superficial. No one cares about you, it's just a superficial thing. 4. VERY VERY LONG work hours, endless overtime, and unfair compensation and bonus distribution systems. 5. This company also retaliates against former employees who were persecuted or treated unfairly. Please be extremely cautious if you want to join this hole! If you're lucky, it might work out better with some practices, offices or management. Most of positive reviews were written by international employees(They have no choice) Please STAY AWAY.

3.0
Jun 27, 2024

Ok

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

We're probably the best antitrust firms in recent years You can coast a bit by sacrificing bonus, won't get fired Culture is relatively healthy

Cons

Below market pay unless you hit hit >100% utilization Seniors will try to keep you staffed even when there's no work Contrary to claims, hours >>> efficiency in evaluations ^ These factors cause a fundamental misalignment in junior/senior staff incentives. Juniors that take 10 hours to do a task are rewarded the same as juniors who do 2 tasks in the same 10 hours. Some "rainmakers" bend to every client wish and make life miserable for those staffed on their projects (that's why they're rainmakers; you're also gonna get staffed on their projects a lot.. wycd lol) Outdated software, and slow to adopt new industry standards

5.0
Mar 14, 2020

Good first job out of college

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I worked at CRA in Oakland for 3 years and have been at a different job for 1 year now. It was hard to appreciate the many benefits of my experience at CRA until realizing that it taught me valuable skills that now make me a high performer at my current job. Working at CRA honed my attention to detail and writing skills. I can now write a detailed 10-page data memo (with footnotes and plots!) in just a couple of days. It taught me time management and how to speak up and voice my opinion (and ask questions) during meetings with seniors. Every Oakland senior staffer really likes teaching at heart - so they are always willing to hear your thoughts and questions and walk you through the economic theory and how they think about engaging with the client. The other junior staffers were also amazing co-workers that I still keep in touch with and we always supported each other. The work itself was pretty interesting and when working with the DOJ or FTC you often felt like you were on the side of "good." The economic experts at CRA Oakland hold themselves to a high standard and are not willing to sign a report that they do not themselves agree with - which also means that you can trust that the work you are doing isn't BS. CRA is willing to invest in their junior staff. Many of CRAs junior staff go on to grad school afterwards, and it's something they encourage and the seniors will often help you as much as they can. Office staff is amazing. The office manager in Oakland is one of the sweetest people I have ever met and she truly cares about making CRA a fun and welcoming place to work for everybody.

Cons

Long (~60 hrs/week) and often unpredictable hours are the norm, and you're pretty much always expected to work on weekends. In the bay area weekend work is pretty common and I pretty much do at least some work every weekend now, but unlike CRA it's not required and it's fun stuff that I want to do. Base pay is pretty low for the bay area - the quarterly and yearly bonuses are what bring compensation up to the bay area average. Bonuses are mostly tied to billable hours which are often out of your control as an analyst. It's often a high-stress job with tight deadlines. There were a handful of experiences I can think of where emotions ran high and people weren't always acting with the highest level of professionalism.

Viewing 13 - 15 of 603 Reviews

Glassdoor has 670 Charles River Associates reviews submitted anonymously by Charles River Associates employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Charles River Associates is right for you.