Westat reviews

The pay is next to nothing but they make you think its okay by saying at least you have a job. There are people that have advanced degrees that still make entry-level salaries. If you are not in the "in-crowd" my advice is to get your experience and get out. There are great managers at Westat and there are also really bad managers. People are promoted to management positions based on last man standing approach rather than on ability. The people that would be great leaders and have proven to be great leaders are usually stuck under people who shouldn’t be managers. There is no room for growth. There are little to no mid-level positions. If and that’s a big IF you are lucky enough to become “promoted”, you will NOT get a pay increase. A promotion at Westat means increase in responsibilities/more work, and change in title; no pay increase. You are required to continue to take on more and more and more work without a pay increase. If you decline to take on more work, then you are at risk for getting fired, if you remain at the same level for years and years then you are also at risk for getting fired, at a certain point (usually over the age of 60) and make too much money, you are risk for being fired. Westat doesn't care about retaining talent.

The supervisors seem to have little or no interestest in the safety of the Field Representatives. Regardless of the area or the verbal abuse we were subjected to by the public, the only interest that supervisors have are the numbers. Even when threatened by respondents the comments are - well when are you planning on going back. The pay is poor and and the risk is high. Supervisors are either poorly trained or just a person to fill a positon that has no business in being in that position