Abbott Labs Reviews in Chicago, IL Area

Pros

This is related only to IT field: Many different projects.

Cons

This is related only to IT field: many of the employees who have been there for a while do not seem to be up -to-date with the latest trends, best practices and related education, which makes it difficult to complete projects to the best interest of the clients. IT overall could be more sofisticated and helpful over there.

Advice to Senior Management

Promote best practices and world class practices in IT.

Pros

Great people, good projects, good benefits, flexible work environment, good city, good employee support programs such as mentorships and other support

Cons

sometimes the company can seem a little slow and old faishoned. Although that seems to be changing. It is big company - so sometimes you can get lost

Advice to Senior Management

Need to change the following - sometimes the company can seem a little slow and old faishoned. Although that seems to be changing. It is big company - so sometimes you can get lost

Pros

Maintains mid-west values, people are generally friendly, and the large size of the company allows employees to pursue opportunities to work within different areas of the company. Because Abbott is well diversified in terms of its products, Abbott is generally viewed as a stable company.

Cons

The company is primarily a business/commercially rather than a scientifically driven company. This mindset creates a very risk adverse and generally conservative company with regards to the types of risks it is willing to take. This mindset makes Abbott a fast follower rather than a true innovator, which in and of itself may be risks.

Advice to Senior Management

Be willing to take a chance on science and be first on the market for a change.

Pros

ABT is the best kept secret if you want to make a good career in medical/pharma industry. The company environment is good, pipeline strong, great management, great benefit package etc. I would highly recommend it to anyone.

Cons

Not many cons...per say. It is a big company and obviously takes some time for this giant wheel to roll on...but, it is not a major problem.

Advice to Senior Management

Current management is very good...Miles knows the stuff and walks the talk without making much noise. Very professional people in the top management with a good vision for the company.

Pros

- Good pay and benefits
- A lot of responsibility
- Unless Miles sells your division you can probably work for many years there if you do a good job.

Cons

- Management is very cliquish, closed to change and behind the times - too many of them only care about sucking up to their boss and getting their next bonus check.
- Most upper management is very insular and arrogant - "if Abbott didn't invent it (which we don't invent too much anymore - we just buy it) it's not important." Learning from outside sources, groups is almost discouraged.

Advice to Senior Management

Get out of your cliques and involved your employees in running the company - we're the ones who really know what's going on. We all graduated from high school - time you did too.

Pros

Great line of work, large and diversified company, good pay

Cons

Poor culture in US pharma - little regard for work/life; more focus on internal activities than outward customer and competitor focus

Advice to Senior Management

Provide more latitude to lower levels of management for decision-making. Trust and believe in their observations and recommendations. Create a vision/mission/strategy and hold to it - do not change frequently or let it blend into background.

Pros

You get a feeling that you are truly helping people with the products that the company makes. There are great benefits. Salary is not always the most competitive, but the other benefits make up for it. There are many diverse aspects of the company and locations to work, so you can change careers and stay with the same company.

Cons

It is a large company, so you can get lost in the shuffle. You need to always look out for your best interests, as your management is not always looking out for your career.

Advice to Senior Management

Good work, the acquisitions were fun to observe.

Pros

A good place for starting out as a non Ph.D. scientist. You learn the ins and outs of corporate life and the realities of dealing with the FDA.

Cons

Rather low pay compared to the industry standard. WAY too much MBA nonsense to comply with that adds no value to you or the product.

Advice to Senior Management

Have more reward driven promotions based on performance than automatic ones based on Ph.D.s. An advanced degree is not an automatic indicator of management apptitude. Also, Abbott should get back to putting money into R&D and quit buying up other companys. Eventually, when everything has dried up and you need a product to sell, it will not be there. Get something into the pipeline.

Pros

It is has many areas that a Software Developer can move to

Cons

Management is too far removed and not involved. Contractors are kept contractors for too long.

Advice to Senior Management

Let non biological or chemical scientists become Senior Management to better understand when an IT vendor is cheating the company. Please have more 6 month to contract positions instead of "never permanant" positions so that critical contractors do not leave during the middle of a project. Also, don't remove an employee's new office carpet if their pay grade does not require it. That's just silly.

Pros

Abbott laboratories supports internal promotions for employees and offers many opportunities to move around the company if someone so chooses. Abbott is a well respected company within the pharmaceutical industry

Cons

As with many pharmaceutical companies, stability can be an issue as drugs lose patent. Abbott has an average pipeline and a lower than average industry starting salary. Abbott does not generally have or allocate as many direct-to-consumer marketing dollars for their products to effectively sell them against competitors in the market.

Advice to Senior Management

Increase opportunities for level promotions for representatives.