US Bureau of Labor Statistics Reviews in Washington, DC

Former Employee – worked at US Bureau of Labor Statistics full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – If you study stats in school, this is the premier place to start your career. Top brand name and a much better location than the Census Bureau. Opens a lot of doors in DC. I've been in the private sector and other agencies and the BLS was the most challenging job I've had. Once you do stats here, almost everywhere else is easy. The pay in the private sector doesn't get better until you get in the GS-14/manager range.

Better equipment, less politics, more collaborative and better training than the private sector. Good place to get your bearings while you figure out what you want to do longer-term. Pay is good up to GS-13.

Cons – Quickly tap out at a 12 in any agency under the 1529/1530 designation; will need to move on to other agency or other company to get 13 and above without waiting behind a queue. You can get more money through bonuses in the private sector after GS-14.

Job can become a rut, even the research-related ones. Very automated, not a lot to contribute.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at US Bureau of Labor Statistics as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Good hours, good people. Simple environment, well defined tasks, flexible hours, decent salary, overall a medianly good place to work at.

Cons – Bureaucracy, bureaucracy, menial tasks, repetitive work, red tape, limited creativity, office politics, nothing too exciting compare to the private indusrptry in terms of exit opportunities and advancement opportunities

Current Employee – been working at US Bureau of Labor Statistics full-time for less than a year

Pros – It is a good place to get your foot into the government door. The work is easy in terms of difficulty. Depending on your office, your coworkers will be of similar age so that makes it more interesting.

Cons – The work is tedious/mind numbing. It is not challenging in any way shape or form. Coming from an academic background I expected things to be easier than what I have been working on but the type of work I do is no where near worth the salary I make. The senior management is caught around 10 years in the past, which is normal for government from what I can deduce. For example, I am unable to use a laptop in meetings to take notes. They micromanage much of the work that middle management assigns and in many cases does not go through middle management to assign workloads.

Advice to Senior Management – Management needs to be more clear about what each position is and the level of work you will doing. They need to not micromanage as much (a little is acceptable and I even like it so you can get to work with a superior) as well as be more open to the changing world of technology and how it can impact the work we do. Utilze your employee's talents and don't force a round peg into a square hole because that is how you have done it for 20 years. I am under utilized to an extreme and am actively searching for a new job due my dissatisfaction with this organization.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at US Bureau of Labor Statistics full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Relax working environment
Federal employment
Pay is pretty good, and I don't think you can beat the benefit

Cons – Not as much challenge if you are someone full of ambition, for any company there's competition, but this place the competition is not as intense as some private company.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at US Bureau of Labor Statistics full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Work/Life balance
Opportunities to switch between programs

Cons – Work can become monotonous
Not all coworkers are motivated...progress can be slow on projects

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at US Bureau of Labor Statistics full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Unbeatable work-life balance; large network of smart, young economists; access to professional events and training in-house and in D.C.; great location in the middle of the District.

Cons – Advancement is slow, there is a strong contingent of staff (mostly older staff or "lifers") who do not take their jobs seriously, including some who do literally no work

Advice to Senior Management – The reforms needed to improve efficiency and performance are beyond the control of BLS managers. They lie with the Federal civil service system. The entire Federal employment system needs to Institute performance-based hiring, firing, and advancement.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at US Bureau of Labor Statistics as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Everyone I met was helpful and wanted me to learn.
Able to participate in department meetings and attend presentations
Very relaxed environment
Management is well balanced
Allowed me to write my own piece once finished with all assigned tasks

Cons – Work can be tedious (I mean, you are checking data all day...)
It is a desk job, for the most part

Advice to Senior Management – I thought that my direct supervisor did a good job of assigning me tasks, though sometimes I wasn't sure if I was supposed to go to her or the "boss boss" for certain issues.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Pros – slow motion and intense relationship

Cons – bureaucratics afects the working process

Advice to Senior Management – reforming the system

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Pros – Great place to start a career and get responsibility quickly.

Cons – Promotion can top out quickly

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at US Bureau of Labor Statistics

Pros – Opportunities to gain deep and thorough mastery of data processes, analysis, and systems.

Well respected agency; strives for objectivity in all its outputs.

Flexitime and flexiplace really helps when you need it.

Cons – For new hires: economists don't work on economics subjects as learned in school. There is a great deal of mostly database work and thus programming skills are emphasized much more than any others you learned.

Mid-level managers keep information close; there is no sharing of big-picture matters or insights on a routine basis with staff. This is clearly a top-down management environment more similar to the military.

Promotions based on successorship expectations and so can take several years to hopefully have a chance at more senior positions.

Advice to Senior Management – BLS needs a culture of fostering information and resources across units. Systems and processes need to be brought up from being 10 years behind the private sector (or even other agencies). Promotions need to become a more balanced mix of insiders and outsiders.