Pros
Not many. Overtime is available (sometimes required).
Cons
Little work life balance unless you’re in the wet lab department where you can come in early and go when your work is done. Even then the workload is overwhelming at times. It’s a frequent occurrence to hear people crying in the bathroom over not having enough time for lunch or being overwhelmed by the amount of work. As for the science, I worked in the instrumentation department and the instruments that were used were severely outdated. If you want to learn what the industry standard was 10-20 years ago then this is the place for you. Not worth it to come here for applicable industry experience. You’re also treated like a robot and given an excessive assignment of instruments to handle daily. No time for actual in depth learning of instrumentation that you can take with you to other places. You do however get to spend hours making reagents using a new system they’re trying to implement. Management only cares about numbers especially in the wet lab department. Generally the workload and the way they operate is unsafe for employees. Not only that, I’ve had my lab safety concerns gaslight by the EH&S manager to the point where I almost got OSHA involved. If you’re looking to move up in the company forget about it. They prioritize external hires over internal ones. On one occasion an employees personal social media posts were brought up as an excuse not to promote them. They judge internal candidates on personal relationships rather than on if they have the skills to do the job. I’ve also seen talented wet lab analysts frequently passed over for promotions due to managements fear of loosing them. Often times they leave the company anyway. Also take note if you’re looking for a jumping off point for your career, management can’t give you letters of recommendation even for former employees. If you’re considering working here make sure you read these reviews and watch your back. It sounds silly but you can’t trust anyone especially if you want to move around in the company. Also don’t expect management to actually listen to you. In the end all they care about is the numbers and not having skilled employees. Finally, no perks that you’d see at comparable companies. The company used Covid as an excuse to stop hosting events that boosted morale. It would’ve been nice to at least have free snacks in the break room. If you want a bag of chips you better have $1.50!
