Good company to work for - Research Coordinator & Analyst Rose Li & Associates Employee Review

Great opportunity to experience multiple workstreams

None at the present moment

RLA has a truly unique culture that rewards discussion and honest feedback. I learned an immense amount while working here on different scientific topics, professional writing, business development, etc. The Science Communications division is very well run, and Dana is an amazing manager. RLA also has actual written policies to promote work/life balance, which is exceptionally rare among government contractors. A lot of people really liked working here for work/life balance.

Pay is low, which management acknowledges. They argue they make up for it in 401(k) contributions, but that's of little use when you can't pay your bills. Most employees are hired straight out of grad school and the culture is very optimized for them. Direct communication that is normal in other companies is viewed as too intimidating and threatening to new employees, and more experienced and knowledgeable employees often have to do extra work to make up for newer employees lacking attention to detail and nuance. Many employees may also be unaware of ethical ramifications of what they write, which worries me in such a politicized environment that weaponizes science to attack minorities. The company exploded in revenue when everyone was fully remote during COVID, but the CEO still distrusts remote workers. We lost good employees to the refusal to accept fully remote work.