Westat reviews

3.6

71% would recommend to a friend

(712 total reviews)
avatar

Scott Royal

77% approve of CEO

29% positive business outlook

Westat has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 712 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Westat employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Management & Consulting industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

712 reviews
2.0
Jun 25, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

A few opportunities to get research experience and work on different projects Can work remotely but limited for local people Nice cheap cafeteria and gym Pay for graduate degrees if willing to commit to 2 years post-degree

Cons

Only one track for promotion presented to me which is note-taking for client meetings, and fragmented budget process, no mentoring or training. Senior people still run client meetings and make decisions so real opportunity for leadership. Very top-heavy environment and completely dependent on senior people to get on proposals and give you work and decide what role you play. Lines are not clear as to what you can initiate. Pressure to work on more than one project and then you are not treated same as FT people who get more perks. Everyone works on billable hours so pressure to be always busy, bill to multiple projects, and have enough work which results often in OT but no "comp" time arrangement. If you raise issues or questions about process with clients, there can be internal repercussions. Depends on client, but regulations and constraints make hard to do job effectively.

3.0
Jun 2, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

It's stable. Once employed, if you do your work it is highly unlikely that you will be fired. Everyone is friendly. It's a relaxed and relatively non-competitive company to work in and for. The benefits package is excellent--which I did not appreciate until I left-Particularly the retirement package. You don't realize it until after that they have essentially helped force you to save for retirement so it puts you at a long term advantage.

Cons

There are few opportunities for clear growth. Professional development is not adequately supported or even understood. Direct communication is often not done--so if someone is doing bad frequently the manager will complain to everyone EXCEPT the person in question. Ridiculous. I worked on 6 different projects and saw it happen over and over again. It's a very subversive culture and unproductive.

1.0
May 31, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Private office Nice campus Professional membership reimbursement Professional development

Cons

Toxic work culture (interpersonal backbiting, low morale, demoralized workers) Internal competition within the company Favoritism is rampant Lower pay than comparable positions at employers in this area

Viewing 670 - 672 of 712 Reviews

Glassdoor has 849 Westat reviews submitted anonymously by Westat employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Westat is right for you.