RTI International reviews

- Poor management, no "atta boys" AT ALL. This may vary by department/manager - Project priorities rarely made clear by management - Management is very top heavy - Pay is WELL under market value - Annual raises in 2010, 2011, 2012 were 1%-3%, no bonus pay - Benefit premiums increase every year, STD and LTD salary % went down each year (now 60%) - Company used to pay employees when they closed for inclement weather. Now you have to use your PTO to cover your time out - even though you can't report for work - No real opportunity for growth or promotion if you have a BA/BS. Management will tell you there is, but when the rubber meets the road, you're stuck where you got hired - Perks such as Ice cream days and catered socials are few and far between now, contributing to lowered morale - Very clear distinction between the value of PhD employees and those with lesser degrees - Every minute of your day is charged to either projects or overhead, and it's your responsibility that you don't use too much OH - OVERALL - a company that in the 80' and 90's had a wonderful reputation for work/life flexibility, great benefits, good salaries, opps for promotions, lots of perks, has changed dramatically and is no longer the coveted company it once was

My first week, I was given some tasks I found to be worth my time, but also some extremely menial tasks. I was unhappy about this, because the menial tasks weren't discussed in my interviews. My manager said doing this well would advance my career and open up other opportunities. I knew that's not how the tech industry works (but I did them anyway). Issues of freedom of expression during what is supposed to be open forum time (e.g.: opinions about Gaza/Palestine, opinions about organizational habits), higher pay for new employees vs. employees who have been around longer, siloed sub-sections, DOGE funding cuts - but job positions are somehow still being posted (probably either for optics, or because they laid too many people off). High percentage of staff have been laid off (~35% of employees, according to one source). This is not for a lack of aptitude; RTI seems to be struggling financially (although the CEO denies this -- I don't buy it). Not a good "first company", in my opinion. No higher pay guarantee for DoD project work. Politics: gatekeeping of certain tasks and project work, particularly at the practice-area level, and sometimes between co-workers. Some practice areas DO compete with each other for the same work; they should be working together. CEO Tim Gabel makes over 1.2 million dollars per year, according to the internet. He is (externally) a nice guy who is able to speak well and play the part, but this is a non-profit organization with clients who are funded by the Federal government, and many employees badly need a raise beyond the annual 2.5-5% (think the lower end of the scale) raise. He also did not found RTI. I would argue he is NOT 14 times more effective than the average employee, although he is certainly the most visible. On the RTP campus: many cubicles aside from those in the Holden building are a bit isolated and outdated. The cubicle walls are so tall, that you cannot see over them when standing. Lunch prices on campus used to be low, but they have gone up. If you are short on billable project work, you may be pressured to use your PTO (even if you don't want to). Managers do not seem to be sufficiently incentivized to help you find project work all the time, but this is partly due to the fact that RTI is likely struggling financially. Managers themselves are pressured to have a higher "direct project rate", when this counteracts their duties as managers. Communication by skips/managers has not always been effective in getting people project work. I have noticed once that forms that were filled out to get project work were not even sent to the person at RTI hiring for the target project. Somehow, this failing negatively affects the non-manager employees, and not the managers themselves. A leader in the Analytics and AI practice area was fired for an unknown reason, even though she was a hard worker who was highly regarded by her peers.