"Biotechnician" - Biotechnician General Atomics Employee Review

3.0
Sep 27, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Paid holidays, continuing education options, decent benefits, nice facilities, fitness facilities available

Cons

After working for a small division of GA for 3 years I saw my fair share of sexist management that hires women based on their looks, mid-level management that has no idea what they are doing, harassment of employees, hazing from managers, unethical manufacturing practices, HR department that does nothing, top management that acts like 15 year old teenagers, environment where taking responsibility for actions is not encouraged, misappropriation of labor and funds, lack of follow through with anything, band aid solution after band aid solution, destruction of quality records/files, and favoritism. In the second week of my employment, I was told to "up manage" my direct supervisor by top management. I'll just let that thought simmer. In addition to these things happening, no one at my division actually had a job title that reflected the job that they did. There were people leading teams and involved with production of clinical chemistry reagent, but they were referred to as "Biotechnicians". At any other biotech company, this would be a Scientist I/Manufacturer I or II/Process Engineer position. Job descriptions throughout the group were vague which basically allowed management to tell you to do anything from handling a customer audit to testing materials to cleaning the floors. The pay is a joke. As a college graduate with a BS, multiple years of experience, and a full-time 40 hours a week job, I should not have to contemplate the idea of taking on a second job to pay my basic bills. Shame on GA for not paying fair market value for their employees.

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General Atomics Response
10y
Thank you for taking the time to leave your review. We appreciate the feedback and regret that you had this experience with General Atomics and affiliated companies. We encourage you to reach out in order to further discuss your concerns. Please feel free to call our support helpline at (858) 455-4545 and leave a message with your contact information, or visit www.ga.com/careers and utilize the support mailbox provided.

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Pros

Mostly good people and skilled engineers that are easy to work with and great to learn from across all groups/locations. There is opportunity to pursue technical areas of interest and to stand out by leading improvement efforts. The company is flexible and often facilitates changes according to interest. Sense of job security generally feels good and stable, the greater GA really backs the Space division. The greater company works on some really interesting and cool things, beyond just defense. Pay is pretty good. Experience with most middle management (of engineers) has been positive, they typically advocate and support their employees.

Cons

Unsure of division leadership and strategic direction. Overall impression is that engineers' perspectives are not adequately weighted in both proposals and certain decisions for active missions. Processes burden performance, though there is intention for constant improvement. Ignoring engineering concerns (i.e. with schedule) + process burdens often result in delays and increased pressure, and therefore a less than ideal working environment at times. Overtime pay is not guaranteed but can be approved. Working with teams in different locations can lead to tension and "silo-ing" (though not always). Space division is becoming mostly defense focused (an industry trend), but would be nice to continue work in the civil earth and space science arena. They also demo'd a nice cafeteria/gathering space for more work/equipment space.

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