Exponent Reviews

Former Employee – worked at Exponent

Pros – I enjoyed geting experience and contacts.

Cons – I did no find any cons.

Current Employee – been working at Exponent full-time

Pros – Unique firm, very high-end consulting, Exponent is the go-to firm for major problems. Entry level staff get great opportuinities to work on high-profile projects, multidisciplinary, huge upside for career advancement and high compensation at the Principal level

Cons – Follks that are not natural consultants (good technically AND good sellers and networkers) may get frustrated as the more nimble peers advance quickly.

Advice to Senior Management – Expand into new areas of consulting..

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Exponent full-time for more than 10 years

Pros – Company is set up to turn you into a business development professional as you advance
Great opportunities to work at the forefront of your technical/scientific speciality and crossover to other disciplines
Great latitude to advance and run your own practice as you hone your clientele and business skills
Hard work can payoff
Good pay and benefits

Cons – High odds of burn out
Need to understand consultant business model and deconflict with your perception of job reward and value
Some practices can be internally competitive and a bit cutthroat

Advice to Senior Management – A more structured approach to mentoring and training the junior staff would help some of the turbulence experienced as they transition, especially with BD

Current Employee – been working at Exponent full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Some of the projects are quite interesting because they are high profile, involve prototypes or pre-released products, or are truly interesting problems. Schedule can be fairly flexible. Very few meetings.

Cons – Project management is non-existent. Some of the projects are exceedingly boring. weekend work is often expected and career advancement is hugely based on luck, not skill.

Advice to Senior Management – Invest more in the career development of junior staff (associate to senior associate level)

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Exponent full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Work is very varied; colleagues are highly competent; company size is manageable; vertical mobility can be high; locations in attractive major cities all across the US; shallow hierarchy

Cons – Vertical mobility depends in part on luck; workload is very erratic

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Exponent full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Fairly good technician staff, hard working, semi clean environment, good 401K . Friendly and knowledgeable administration staff.

Cons – Very large ego management. Make sure you negotiate a pay you can be satisfied with for at least 5 years. Performance reviews possess extreme bias, with little to no consideration for skills and personal contribution to company success. If you are not a Stanford PHD stay away !! Menlo Park
will not fully recognize any degree that is not from Stanford. The strongest example of cronyism I have experienced in my 35 year profession.. Women professionals beware of male management. Very, very expensive Health Insurance. Rude and inconsiderate upper Engineering staff, is standard operating procedure.

Advice to Senior Management – Watch for those who actually perform and separate them from those who chose to ride on the backs of the performers. Currently Management is unable to define the difference. A satisfied customer who will return is worth much more than a dozen neatly composed reports that have little or nothing to do with service the firm provides. Follow through on commitments to change. There is nothing more discouraging to employees than to wait year after year to see if management will implement a simple problem solving tool to improve the department.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Exponent full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – The company is financially solid, even within the financial crisis, mainly due to the type of business and hard work of employees. If you are a consultant, dedicated work and extra effort with relatively good sales skills will get you up the ranks really fast. It is not uncommon to land 2 promotions in 3 years.

Cons – communication from management is lacking. Not a fun place to work.

– I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Exponent full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Brilliant coworkers, wide variety of projects, faced-paced work environment, good compensation

Cons – Management at this company doesn't manage people, they manage projects so you really have to stand up for yourself and take charge of your career if you want anything to happen, unpredictable work schedule

Advice to Senior Management – Incentivize managers to grow junior staff and make them successful at the company

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Exponent full-time for more than a year

Pros – Great environment, very professional people, very detail oriented, friendly co-workers. Flexible working hours, variety of different and challenging projects.

Cons – Managing staff not very friendly, difficult to move up the ladder quickly,

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Exponent

Pros – Fascinating projects, brilliant colleagues, flexible hours, ability to define your own career, significant value on strong technical competency, beautiful work environment, strong value on creativity and ability to pursue business opportunities

Cons – Limited support for investments in R&D unless there will be a significant return on investment in the near term. Helps to be a self-starter.

Advice to Senior Management – Offer stock options at very low quantities to more junior staff in order to promote pride in organization at all levels.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend