Pros
The main reason people stay is because of the schedule flexibility. The number of skills you will gain from this place lies in the unprofessional and misguidance of the management leaders. You will gain leadership qualities based on what not to do when in a leadership role. The hardest workers and the best mentors are the quiet ones. If you are lucky, you will meet at least one good mentor when you start but most likely if they are good, they are probably on their way out, especially with the new management. For your own sanity, ask your mentor before their last day about the unfiltered dynamic of the lab and if they are a true mentor, they will not hold back as to what to be cautious of. You will start out eager to learn but that will disappear after a few months. You will go through waves of emotions with this place. Your mental state will be challenged! If you like unnecessary drama and immature entitled petty people, this place is for you!
Cons
Only apply and accept if desperate for experience, this should be one of your last resorts. Best advice is to learn as much as you can within a year and leave with that experience to another company. DO NOT GET COMFORTABLE and OVERSTAY (specially, if you are a new undergraduate.) Unfortunately, if you have a good work ethic this place will mentally drain you because the amount of overtime one must pull is ridiculous, especially, if you have incompetent co-workers. Management only cares about numbers. Your existence doesn’t exist to management until they want you to push production out or stay overtime. KEEP IN MIND IF SOMETHING IS PRIVATE TO YOU THE BEST THING TO DO IS NOT TO SHARE IT WITH MANAGEMENT. Your private conversations with management will spread like wildfire among different laboratory personnel. It does not matter if you have the work experience or seniority, expect someone less experience to come in at a higher pay and you will be training that individual. Promotions or raises only happen to those who management likes which are mainly those who suck up to management and happens to be the ones who do the least in their departments. There is no such thing as fair pay. Hard work will go unnoticed because management will take credit as their own. Just know the pay rate you come in will mostly be the rate you stay in for most of your time there. To get more money, you must quit, and then they might try to match your new offer. Insight to some departments: Micro and in-organics have the highest turnover rate, if there were new people, most of the time they belonged to one of the two. Volatiles is the department internal candidates avoid when there is an opening because the management style reflects the department name. LCMS, semi- volatiles, and HPLC are the departments with the least drama since everyone is older with years of experience.
