It is status quo and so if you are a high performer, you will never be recognized or appreciated in the form of good raises. Raises are not performance-based. Performance evaluations are a pointless. Raises are determined by HR based on poor “market research” efforts rather than recognizing the value or performance of individuals. Raises are determined before performance evals are even complete. Unless HR thinks market research shows you have a hot job title, you typically get the standard 3-4% raise regardless of how hard you work or what amazing things you do. This systematically de-incentivizes performance but if you can’t help but perform, you will be unhappy. They lead you on for years thinking a good raise is around the corner. The problem is that while it is awesome it is a block from the beach, that means if you want say a normal humble 3br house within a 30min commute, you will need to pay well over $1M. “Normal” house starts at $1.4M. Did I mention the crappy raises? So you can go work in a cutthroat for-profit environment and get paid normal, or in a non-profit environment with nice people and be poor in LA. It is just too bad this place has way too much weak leadership and doesn’t pay well for the area. They take advantage of people wanting an altruistic mission and let them work as hard as they want even though the hard work is for nothing. There’s this implication like, “well we didn’t ask you to do all that.” When it comes to research, projects are underfunded and the altruistic mission draws people to work for free. There are some truly bad managers embedded in the ranks and it is impossible to fire them. The org hierarchy is incredibly flat. Usually Manager, Director, VP, CEO. Opportunities for advancement are nearly nonexistent. If you need a place to heal for a while after a cutthroat environment, it is good but you will more than likely have to take a pay cut. Due to the housing cost and LA traffic, you will more than likely have a long commute unless you don’t have a family, and make six figures so you can afford a tiny apartment nearby-ish (less than 30min commute). Remote work you say? It is a very old-school mentality here, and they believe that remote workers aren’t actually working so they don’t allow a lot of that. In fact, there are all kinds of little events designed to draw people INTO the office who normally work remotely. This means time-wasting events, when working in the office is already usually less efficient than working from home. People stay here a long time because time flies by because they are able to accomplish very little in a year. Working fast just isn’t in the culture. If you are looking to chill out and not work hard but not get paid a lot, RAND might be for you. This is the job that also made me realize HR’s purpose in the world is to protect the company, not the employee. RAND being a non-profit likes to pretend to be poor, but that is actually false. But unfortunately, the money is just spent in the wrong places. Executives get bonuses while everyone else struggles. The cafeteria is not subsidized nearly enough either. It’s basically just as expensive to eat there as it is out and about locally. The profit that can’t be profit and has to be re-spent is wasted and spent in all the wrong places while they beg for money from donors. Grad students at the attached school are attached to research projects and used as cheap super hardworking labor. This place is no more pure than any for-profit company, it is just wrapped in a different package.
