Pros
Acumen is a great place to work if you're looking for a job in the public sector side of health policy in the Bay Area; there are few other employers around that offer similar types of opportunities, especially for graduates right out of college. Unlike similar research firms (e.g., Mathematica Policy Research), there's less value/emphasis placed on graduate degrees here; merit/ability goes a long way (there isn't a "cap" to what you can achieve at a particular education level, which is much appreciated). Good talent is definitely recognized both in terms of responsibility and compensation. You will do well here as a motivated self-starter, good communicator, and solid analytical thinker. As another reviewer said, it's possible to be managing people and/or projects within 1-2 years of joining. The research in the firm touches on many aspects of Medicare and Medicaid policy (especially payment policy). The projects are quantitatively-oriented, but not in an unmanageable way if you didn't graduate from a mathematics or economics program as an undergraduate; varied backgrounds are valued, especially for writer/coordinator positions. As long as you're able to think logically and analytically, have an appreciation for numbers, and have never uttered the phrase "I'm just not a math person" when you were in school, you will be just fine. Unlike a more hierarchical research firm, there's a ton of peer-to-peer interaction in the research group, since the company is largely composed of 20-35 year olds. This promotes a strong team-driven, often fun atmosphere, in which there are tons of opportunities to learn how to effectively communicate your thoughts/ideas to others internally and to clients externally. However, there are some drawbacks: the culture can be a bit unprofessional at times, there are holes in knowledge/expertise, and there's a lack of attention paid to professional development and mentorship.
Cons
Acumen seems to have slowly been finding its sea legs over the last several years as it's become less of a start-up and more of an established firm. It is evident that senior management has turned significant attention to longstanding problems of retention, work/life balance, transparency, performance recognition, and management training, but still has a good way to go. It is possible for analysts in the research group to be either (1) completely swamped all the time, working crazy hours, or (2) completely understaffed and underutilized, barely working an 8-hour day. This is a troubling disparity that needs to be addressed by the company's leadership. The structure of staffing in the research groups means that a new analyst is likely to be put on a specific research team (serving one client) and stay there. It can be the luck of the draw in terms of how well-functioning and well-managed your assigned team is. As Acumen works to improve managers' management skills and project management standards across the board, hopefully there will be less variability in peoples' experiences. Along similar lines, it can be very difficult to get any kind of mentorship from managers or other leadership in the firm, since managers are definitely busy and many don't commit time to regular one-on-one conversations to give feedback, never mind to discuss professional development or other concerns. The CEO is quite involved in certain projects and can be challenging to work with. However, the challenges can be well-managed by consistently, proactively, and effectively communicating with him about projects (rather than only in close proximity to a project deadline or in the midst of a crisis). This can require a learning curve, but it's certainly not impossible to do. There is a strong emphasis on "learning the data" that Acumen works with (Medicare and Medicaid claims) as one of the requirements for advancement, but there are very poor resources/tools for non-programmers and programmers alike to do so. Much of the knowledge sharing has historically been informal "so-and-so says x" and "this person says to do y" type of arrangement (i.e., it depends on who you know/what knowledge you have been privy to) rather than a repository of formal, well-maintained, written resources that allow for equal opportunity in learning. The latter arrangement is self-serving to those who have been at the company for some time, and strongly disadvantages newer hires, even if they have relevant work experience. The location of the company is very poor given that the vast majority of employees are between the age of 20-35. Its distance from the city of San Francisco basically guarantees that an employee residing in a city neighborhood will have a 25-45 minute driving commute each way. This issue is a major factor for many in considering whether to stay at the company long-term.
