Flexible and Demanding Work for the Driven Employee
Pros
POLARIS Laboratories is a very fast-paced work environment, so if you aren't prepared to work hard and learn quickly, this place is most likely not for you. This is a great aspect if you like to be granted quite a bit of responsibility and freedom to make decisions at all levels. I really enjoyed the challenges each day provided and every single day was different. Every review for company will say the best part about working here is the people and I couldn't agree more with that statement. Over the years I've made many friends with my coworkers and it was due to the many extracurricular activities that included basketball after work, board game days at lunch, and the company soft ball team (currently not in commission, but available to anyone to put together). You are guaranteed to meet some of the best people ever at POLARIS Laboratories. Another positive point that was incredibly important to me was the flexibility my management had with my Air National Guard career. Every step of the way, they always supported my goals to support the Air Force and would facilitate in any way possible when I was called up for duty or training. It is very difficult to find employers with the amount of patience and understanding as POLARIS Laboratories with the military, but it make sense that they would be accommodating since the CEO is member of the Air National Guard as well. Finally, I really enjoyed the hours I was assigned. My management worked with me to determine what schedule would best fit my needs which in turn helped improved my performance. I am not a morning person, so a 10:00 AM to 6:30 PM shift was perfect. Being part of both the morning and night crews was great! Overall, I really grew up a lot while working a POLARIS Laboratories. I am grateful for all the lessons and experiences that I gained along the way. I don't think I would have been able to finish my bachelor's degree, commission into the Air Force as an officer, and develop my problem-solving skills to the level I did anywhere else. This is really a great place to work!
Cons
The workload at times is demanding. Overtime does occur fairly often, especially for certain departments. Pay is pretty middle of the road, but I do think that the raise and promotion schedules still need some serious reworking. The highest percentage merit raise I ever received was 3%, so I would highly recommend either working towards promotion raises or finding different new jobs internally to improve your wage. I regret not being as aggressive with my career there, but there are really great stories of employees taking on every opportunity they could get their hands on and rising to amazing levels of leadership in a very short period of time. Ultimately, it is very likely you will have to move on to another company if you have desires to
