Emotionally exhausting - Senior Research Associate Westat Employee Review

3.0
Jun 7, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Benefits & pay are decent, though lower than competitors -People were nice and helpful when you had questions -Lunchtime learning presentations were interesting and gave awareness of other work going on in the company -In a large company, people are going to have mixed experiences, and mine is only one. I think junior people learn a lot.

Cons

-I was hired post-COVID and everyone worked remotely. It is a large company with many departments and projects and I never felt that I knew what happened anywhere outside of my projects, even within my division. -I was isolated and unsupported by management. In consulting, you have to make sure all of your hours are billable to specific projects, which change according to tasks and deadlines. I struggled my entire time to fill hours and received little help. -I had a bumpy start and was never able to recover. I think this was a mix of an ill fit, a lack of support, and the mental and physical toll the job took on me. -Toward the end, I was put on a project I really liked with two people I really clicked with. I learned a lot about their experiences with the company. It was very eye-opening to hear about toxic and unethical situations they experienced. -Ultimately, I was laid off due to DOGE. It was a relief for me personally and I got a severance, but they laid off a colleague who had worked there for 22 years. Zero compassion or effort to try to find her project work.

Explore other reviews about Westat

5.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great company to work for. Training is always effective and well designed.

Cons

Projects/data collection periods could be longer.

4.0
Jul 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some of the leadership are fantastic! Pay is fair

Cons

Some staff do not respect lower staff; especially when they are Black lower level staff. Reactive instead of proactive when it comes to training up staff as opposed to hiring consultants Benefits and pay suffered after the administration took over Work-life balance frequently is an issue. Intrusive work expectations.

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