Is RAND a good company to work for?

RAND has an overall rating of 4.0 out of 5, based on over 554 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months. 73% of employees would recommend working at RAND to a friend and 35% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about RAND have been left by employees working as Summer Associate , Research Assistant and Assistant Policy Researcher .

Does RAND pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, RAND employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.7 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at RAND. This rating has improved by 5% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at RAND?

73% of RAND employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated RAND 4.3 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.9 for culture and values and 3.5 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at RAND?

Research Assistant (45) , Administrative Assistant (21) , Assistant Policy Researcher (17) , Analyst (15) , Researcher (15) , Summer Associate (12) , Manager (7) , Policy Analyst (7) , Assistant Policy Analyst (6) , Finance (6) , Policy Researcher (5) , Senior Analyst (5) , Associate Policy Researcher (4) , Behavioral Scientist (4) , Senior Political Scientist (4)

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

"Great people and very intellectual" ((in 67 reviews)); "Great location and colleagues with expertise in their field." ((in 62 reviews)); "The benefits for time off and health insurance can be good." ((in 42 reviews)); "Very collegial, exciting and impactful work, and lots of smart people to work with." ((in 10 reviews)); "beautiful office in santa monica with great cafeteria." ((in 9 reviews))

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

"Low pay relative to outside (non" ((in 17 reviews)); "Long hours because of gripping topics and always juggling priorities on different projects." ((in 12 reviews)); "salaries are low (at least at the Europe office)" ((in 10 reviews)); "aggressed by managers and directors that I relied on for work and management was unequipped to deal with these issues." ((in 8 reviews)); "Senior Leadership can treat their staff with contempt." ((in 7 reviews))

What are employees saying about RAND layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about RAND layoffs and their outlook for job security at RAND in 2026.

What are the top reviewed RAND locations?

Santa Monica , Washington , Arlington , Pittsburgh , Los Angeles , New York , San Francisco , Boston , Idaho Falls , Chicago , Bristow , Randolph , Austin , Honolulu , Arcadia , Woodland Hills , Pawtucket , Baltimore , Central , Crystal City

RAND reviews

4.0

73% would recommend to a friend

(502 total reviews)

Jason Matheny

53% approve of CEO

35% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.3

Work/Life balance

3.9

Culture & values

3.8

Diversity & inclusion

3.7

Compensation and benefits

3.5

Career opportunities

3.3

Senior management

RAND has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 502 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The RAND employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Management & Consulting industry (3.7 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

502 reviews

4.0

Jan 13, 2021

Incredible Research Opportunities Constrained by Bureaucracy

Senior behavioral scientist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Intellectually challenging and wide-ranging work, incredible personal freedom (I effectively have no boss), incredible work flexibility, generous benefits and salary.

Cons

Bureaucracy. The institution wants us to innovate and take risks, and has an office of innovation. But RAND also has unit heads and especially a Quality Assurance office dedicated to risk-aversion. Innovation is almost entirely stifled.

3.0

Oct 9, 2016

Rethink the structure

Anonymous

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

-Great Benefits -Flexible hours -Smart people -Challenging work

Cons

-The matrix causes conflict between units and research organization which leads to in-fighting and vying for position -Exceptions for the researchers are the rule -Support staff are obviously not as respected as researchers and are sometimes ignored or thought of as "getting in the way" -Elitism at its finest

5.0

Aug 4, 2015

Incredible institution, one-of-a-kind work environment

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

RAND produces cutting-edge research, evaluation, and policy analysis that shapes societies and communities. It was a privilege to work at this renowned institution. Everyone is unbelievably smart, sharp, and hard-working. The tremendous portfolio of work across various policy spheres allow you to branch out, working across disciplinary bounds in a way that is unusual for an institution. The support structure is excellent - from administrative to grant/contract processing to finance to media/communications. Things just "work" and operations flow very smoothly.

Cons

Getting project work is the biggest challenge. RAND is an internally competitive job market, even after you're hired you must constantly work to get on projects. Research staff are expected to bring in their own funding, or join forces with other researchers that have funding to cover their time. The projects don't just come to you, you must go out and make them happen. There are pros and cons to this.

Viewing 49 - 51 of 502 Reviews

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Incredible Research Opportunities Constrained by Bureaucracy

Rethink the structure

Incredible institution, one-of-a-kind work environment

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