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
4.0
Oct 17, 2017

SPS Staff

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

good for very young or very old people. Can literally wear shorts and a tee-shirt to work. Flexibility with hours and assignments Managers are generally accommodating and are willing to bend rules for the benefit of employees Managers don't mind if you listen to music while you work Gives you experience for other jobs

Cons

No room for advancement. Benefits come after a year. Low pay. Work is monotonous. Work is by contract and not guaranteed You are basically working for Westats internal temp agency. If you need consistent pay or expect raises look elsewhere. These jobs are really more for people who either don't really need work (i.e retired, parents) or are too inexperienced to find higher paying positions. You are a second class employee. No vacation, no paid leave other than sick.

3.0
Aug 11, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Good PTO (vacation time and sick leave, plus floating holidays. All can be rolled over to the next year) -Great opportunities to go to conferences. Believe in business development -Work from home opportunities (only occasionally unless you've been there for a few years.) -Interesting, varied work. Lots of different projects.

Cons

-Culture. Westat's senior staff don't always care about the careers of junior staff. If junior staff express interest in learning certain new skills, senior staff may just ignore them, even if it's in their power to help junior staff grow. -Very, very limited advancement opportunities. Going from junior to senior staff is incredibly difficult. -Pay. Westat definitely underpays.

4.0
Jun 14, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There is plenty of room for growth at Westat. Hard work, ingenuity, and friendly personality are rewarded. Decent benefits and at main offices in Rockville, there is an gym on site.

Cons

Not every project is fun, but where is that not true? Some of the folks can be challenging to work with, but again, that is true in any work situation. Most of the projects are funded through government contracts--in the current administration funding for research is taking a dive, something to consider regarding potential long term employment/employment stability. Also, some of the projects are fast-burn, short deadlines and require more than 45 hours per week; that is difficult especially when you have multiple projects like that or many back-to-back. The coffee is terrible.

Viewing 127 - 129 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.