Is Merck a good company to work for as a Associate Principal Scientist/Associate Director?

Associate Principal Scientist/Associate Director professionals working at Merck have rated their employer with 4.5 out of 5 stars in 139 Glassdoor reviews. This is a higher than average score with the overall rating of Merck employees being 4.1 out of 5 stars. Search open Associate Principal Scientist/Associate Director Jobs at Merck now and start preparing for your job interview by browsing frequently asked Associate Principal Scientist/Associate Director interview questions at Merck .

What are the top reviewed jobs at Merck?

Associate Director (237) , Director (193) , Intern (171) , Senior Scientist (165) , Sales Representative (117) , Scientist (94) , Associate Principal Scientist (93) , Senior Specialist (92) , Project Manager (88) , Manager (86) , Pharmaceuticals Sales Representative (59) , Specialist (59) , Associate Specialist (58) , Operations Manager (51) , Business Analyst (49)

What are the pros of working at Merck according to real employee reviews?

"Benefits are good (middle of road for pharma) Great when compared to other industries" ((in 758 reviews)); "There has been some really great people that have worked in Durham but many have left." ((in 520 reviews)); "Working in maintenance the work can have pressure at times but overall has a good work/life balance." ((in 333 reviews)); "Pay was good and the year end bonus was nice." ((in 307 reviews)); "The culture was great and very inclusive" ((in 282 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Merck according to real employee reviews?

"Poor management; lack of trust between management and reps" ((in 230 reviews)); "Frequent layoffs and reorgs." ((in 148 reviews)); "Merck discovered this ticket and Manager Y and his/her boss called to discuss with me." ((in 113 reviews)); "upper management seems confused; jobs get eliinated" ((in 81 reviews)); "Poor leadership and talent management" ((in 76 reviews))

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Merck

Merck Associate Principal Scientist/Associate Director reviews

4.5

99% would recommend to a friend

(139 total reviews)

Rob Davis

87% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.2

Diversity & inclusion

4.1

Compensation and benefits

4.0

Culture & values

3.9

Work/Life balance

3.9

Career opportunities

3.6

Senior management

Associate Principal Scientist/Associate Director employees have rated Merck with 4.5 out of 5 stars, based on 139 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Associate Principal Scientist/Associate Director professionals have an excellent working experience there. Merck is rated 28% above average by Associate Principal Scientist/Associate Director professionals compared to other employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

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Parent or family caregiver

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Reviews by job title

139 reviews

3.0

Aug 18, 2025

It’s ok

Associate principal scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good people and good benefits

Cons

Leadership can be unpredictable lately

4.0

Aug 12, 2025

Too much politics

Associate principal scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

good quality of research, good benefits, strong competitive recruitment, innovative research (uMap platform]

Cons

Too much internal politics, with many excellent employees leaving for higher positions elsewhere. Over time, this has resulted in a disproportionate number of mediocre employees advancing to higher roles without having delivered meaningful results. A lot of wasted resources, department with hardly any tangible output over years, no accountability, a few people doing the actual work

5.0

Aug 5, 2025

Great Place to Work

Associate principal scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Active efforts to support equitable treatment of employees, delivering meaningful medicines to patients, colleagues are very collaborative and supportive of working towards a common

Cons

bureaucracy and red tape lead to inefficiencies for the business that are hard to influence meaningful change in

Viewing 10 - 12 of 139 Reviews

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Merck

Merck Associate Principal Scientist/Associate Director reviews

Ratings by category

Ratings by demographic groups

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It’s ok

Too much politics

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