Amgen Reviews

Pros

The people at Amgen were wonderful -- professional and friendly.
The management and associates helped to guide new members.
Work was manageable -- not a stressful environment.

Cons

Too big as a company.
Not enough young people with the team/office I worked in, though there were fresh graduates in other departments.

Advice to Senior Management

Keep up the good work!
Guide as well as listen to your employees.
Provide adequate opportunities for career development to all members.

Pros

Good Talent and true desire to acquire talented people

Cons

Limited room for professional ADVANCEMENT

Pros

Amgen has a very comfortable and relaxed working environment. There are great benefits and as an employee your are well taken care of.

Cons

Management is not always able to make quick decisions or guide projects well. Compared to similar companies they seem to be slow and reactive not proactive in their work/research.

Advice to Senior Management

Management needs to drop barriers to projects. The company as a whole needs to work on new and innovative targets rather than targets already well covered by other companies.

Pros

Very casual work environment and amazing work/life balance. Benefits are very nice and as an employee you are well supported.

Cons

Some managers are not professional and project leadership seems unfocused and lacking initiative to make final decisions to move projects forward.

Advice to Senior Management

Solicit more suggestions from employees to improve projects. Be open to new ideas and be able to make real decisions to lead teams successfully.

Pros

There are a lot of opportunities in working at Amgen - meeting great scientists in the industry, learning from an elite group of scientists in the industry, going on conferences, meeting people in general because it's the headquarters. Work life balance is great at Amgen if you take advantage of what Amgen has to offer.
Company offered benefits (401K, Health etc.) are incredible.

Cons

Management is not very stable or great. Amgen should be more informed when putting people in power.

Advice to Senior Management

Re-organizations are very healthy and helpful.

Pros

Nice benefit and work environment with regard to work-life balance. A group of outstanding scientists and experts in drug discovery, notably in biologics.

Cons

Highly political decision system: Decision making in corridor after meeting by a gang of good friends. Few opportunities for growth and promotion. Little appetite for innovation.

Advice to Senior Management

Occupy Kevin's office!

Pros

Vacation package
Employment benefits - Medical
Thousand Oaks is nice place to stay
Good balance of professional and personal life

Cons

Less focus on professional growth
Stagnant career growth - promotion is difficult
Middle management doesn't focus a lot on employee issues
Work is not very challenging
Not lot of learning opportunities
Everyone in IS ends up doing same kind of work

Advice to Senior Management

Give honest answers to employees
Decide your strategy properly
IS group is becoming a place with lot of coordinators, overheads in between

Pros

Very good benefits for the area. The people were definitely a plus when working in such a demanding environment. Enjoyed my team and job duties.

Cons

Very poor senior leadership, they have no idea what staff actually do. Managers once could make decisions, now they are all worried about the repercussions. Constantly making the same mistakes over and over due to arrogance from the top down.

Advice to Senior Management

Figure out what your staff actually do during a normal day to keep the operations running smoothly. They make all decisions based on data even when the data is incorrect, they no longer have the ability to us any on the floor common sense. Try trusting your first level managers and your staff. It was a great company until Kevin Sharer took over the reins.

Pros

Work Life balance, benefits, stable job

Cons

thick middle management, opportunities for growth

Pros

Relaxed envirorment, kind employees, beautiful location

Cons

No growth, the process for lay offs is totally random and not based on performance

Advice to Senior Management

Take time to grow your people and communicate, communicate COMMUNICATE! Leadership 101