Pros
- Opportunity to work with a wide range of clients, including large, mid-size, and emerging biotech/pharmaceutical companies — great exposure to the life sciences industry. - Staff at the junior levels (AC/C/SC) are fantastic — genuinely collaborative, intelligent, and kind people. The peer culture is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise challenging work environment.
Cons
- Compensation is significantly below market, with minimal efforts to address or adjust based on industry benchmarks. - Promotions lack meritocracy — advancement is often tied to time in role rather than performance or impact. - There are serious and unjustifiable pay disparities between internally promoted employees and external hires in the same roles. While HR claims that salaries are standardized and that there is “no room for negotiation” for new hires to ensure pay equity, this is clearly not upheld — external hires are often brought in at significantly higher salaries than long-standing internal employees in identical roles. This creates resentment and a perception of unfairness, especially among employees who have demonstrated loyalty and high performance. - Way over half of the campus rotational cohort departed before the two-year mark, signaling deep issues with program structure, retention, and support. - Unsustainable project load — many staff are assigned to 6+ projects at a time, far exceeding realistic expectations and disregarding employee capacity and work-life balance. - HR and leadership are unresponsive to employee concerns. Even when feedback is escalated appropriately, there’s often no acknowledgment or follow-up, indicating a lack of accountability and respect for staff.