AAAS Reviews

In short, the org now has all the negatives of a non-profit and none of the positives. Frankly, the place reeks of late-stage capitalism. Everyone is expected to give it their all and be a "force for science" with little in the way of ROI. Pay/Advancement - Per other reviews, the pay is low and wages have stagnated. Especially at the lower levels, which is backwards for how the non-profit vs for-profit salary comparison generally works. Because AAAS is a non-profit, you can Google and find the org's tax returns and see how much the higher-ups are making. It'll boil your blood. - Raises: even in years when inflation is not 6%, like 2021, the pooled "merit" increase has not kept pace with inflation. It ranged from 2.5%–3% during my tenure. ***This means you are taking an effective pay cut by staying with the company unless you are promoted, which rarely happens.*** The merit increase should be designated as a COL increase and given to all employees, with an additional increase based on performance. As it stands, there's no real reason to work hard here – you'll get the same as under-performers. - Don't expect to use cutting-edge tech or learn competitive skills. Benefits (a surprise given the other reviews, but hear me out) - Health insurance: when I started at AAAS, my premium was $10/pay period with a low or no deductible (can't recall). When I left, the company had largely pushed everyone to a high deductible plan ($2k deductible), with a premium of $30+/pay period. The first year they rolled this plan out, they contributed $1k to employee HSAs, $500 the second. I'm guessing $250 or $0 next year. Worse yet was the org's denial of these increases. During the past two years' benefits enrollment presentations, HR has chirped "We're *so* excited to share with you these plans. They're really great plans, etc." You're speaking to a company of intelligent people, who can research and compare the offerings of peers at other orgs. Furthermore, to have the gall to say the plans are great when they're significantly worse than the prior year is insulting. Again, the hike in health care costs adds to the penalty in real wages employees suffer by staying at AAAS. - Retirement: Yes, the retirement plan allows you to contribute 4%, which the company will match, and on top of that, they'll give 8%. However, when your salary is 20% below market average, this is negated. You'd be better off with a worse 401k but average pay elsewhere. Furthermore, while a 5-year, graduated vesting plan is not uncommon, the vesting used to be instant after 6 months. This change was very secretly rolled out and another instance of the company's willful acts to avoid transparency. - Education: As an academia-adjacent org, AAAS places emphasis on having degrees, yet no longer (since ~2018) offers tuition assistance or repayment benefits, even if the degree is directly related to your position. Also, completion of a degree does not come with a raise. See: late-stage capitalism. - PTO: For a non-profit in DC in 2021, the PTO is low. 12 days to start may have been something in the 80s, but when for-profits are offering 3wks or unlimited, it makes it hard to justify working for less money as well. Siloing/Power Hoarding/Dynamics: You'll often find managers who are leery of employees communicating with other departments. Inefficiency runs rampant as a result of leaders refusing to let others perform certain tasks or work with other teams. Feelings and personal ties often get in the way of change that is needed. Productiveness is not rewarded on a team or individual level. HR: At any org, HR's primary objective is to protect the company. Ideally, they at least try to find middle ground with the employees' interest. It's extra-despicable when this doesn't happen at a non-profit. Managers have gotten away with murder at AAAS, but since removing them would be an admission of guilt, HR has been slow to do so. Employee turnover is disastrous, and somehow it is lost on HR/the org that it is more costly to recruit and hire than it is to make the changes needed to keep employees. Being understaffed fuels more turnover as the remaining staff are overburdened, and the situation snowballs. Lastly, understaffing and internally politics keep people from moving where their skills might better be used/offer them chances of advancement.

Think twice before accepting an offer with AAAS at this time. The things that have made the organization great are buried among cutthroat senior staff who are running AAAS into the ground. If you're not part of the "executive club" you have to watch your back. Preferential treatment clearly given to friends of HR and executive management. HR is unsafe and has a lot of turnover. Basically things across AAAS are in complete chaos.