BAE Systems USA FAQ

Pros

Flexible work schedule (WFH), rarely have to work overtime, 9/80 schedule, good perks, good pay, actively learning new things if working on Work Directives, job security, PTO rolls over

Cons

Can be slow (due to gov work), product isn't exciting (to me personally), too many hoops you need to jump through at times, people don't like you to step out of your job function in the slightest even if it will help expedite your job tasks, work is boring sometimes

Pros

Good company, good working team, good benefits package and very competitive pay.

Cons

Culture needs to improve a bit.

Pros

Good work to life balance

Cons

Stock option benefit is a joke, dental insurance is abysmal, vision insurance is abysmal, PTO is only 15 days a year so good luck taking any time off. They give no bonuses or salary increases.

Pros

I’ll defer to the other reviews for the good.

Cons

There’s no perfect company out there, but my experience at BAE Systems, Inc. makes it the worst company I’ve ever worked. I concede that others have a different perspective and have had a more positive experience, but if you’re considering this company it’s important to understand the good and the bad of BAE. Working at BAE was like a trip to the 1990’s—from its archaic policies, rigid practices, stuffy management style, to its poor technology infrastructure, this place is stuck in a time warp and struggling to get out of the 20th century. First, BAE is NOT a people-first culture and there is little to no value placed on the whole person. Instead employees are viewed as one-dimensional with only one purpose—to serve the company. While leaders will say they value you as a person, care for your well-being and want an inclusive workplace, their words come off as inauthentic and more as canned talking points. Currently, there is a big initiative to change the culture at BAE—and it is desperately needed. Their workforce is aging and generally, the attitudes, practices, and policies are reflective of a Baby Boomer mindset and a “do as I say, not as I do” type of culture. There is no better example of this than in the company’s sexual harassment training, which is an off-the-shelf online training course and in my opinion in the age of #metoo falls below minimum standards for training. Not once did I hear a leader at BAE speak out to say that harassment of any kind would not be tolerated. I expect this factored into the toxic culture I experienced that allowed bad managers to flourish while turning a blind eye to high turnover and employee complaints about poor managerial conduct. The company states on their career page that “we promote a strong, collaborative culture” however, it was my experience that this is more an aspiration than reality. The current organization structure doesn’t facilitate collaboration, but rather hinders it. Simply, it’s all about your sector or business. Any sharing across “party” lines is more an anomaly than everyday practice. I found BAE to be very tribal—protect your own without any regard for the whole. BAE claims “innovative” as one of its core values, yet they fail miserably to provide employees the proper 21st century tools needed to do the job. Servers are so slow they may be from the Cold War—it took me 1+ hour to attempt uploading a video, only for it to crash on me. Modern cloud-based tools are banned in favor of shared drives that will take you weeks to gain access to, if at all. BAE has not invested in internal technology tools for years, maybe decades—a bit of bright news, the company finally hired a CIO in 2019 (of course this is 20+ years late), so there’s a lifeline for better technology tools. However, the runway to do this is long and with the pace of technological change and the company’s general distaste to invest in its people, it’s my opinion the company will always be catching up. If you want to stay technologically relevant, BAE is not the place. Also outdated are BAE’s leave policies and PTO/vacation practices, particularly for women of child-bearing years. All the women I know hoarded PTO/vacation days so they could add what they could to the 2 weeks paid parental leave and 6 weeks of short-term disability (that’s just 8 weeks of paid leave compared to federal government that offers 12). This poor practice causes women to return to work with NO PTO/vacation—leaving them with only the option to take time off without pay if child gets sick after they return to work. Overall, the PTO accrual is criminal compared to other companies—there is no sick leave bank, so every doctor’s appointment and time out of the office must come from your PTO bank. While a single PTO bank is a common practice for many employers, BAE does not provide adequate number of days in its bank to accommodate both sick and vacation. While they have a PTO buy program, it is discouraged because it will force you into a negative balance and you will never catch up to have a PTO bank. Every day I was at BAE, I seriously wondered how this place stays in business. The phrase “culture eats strategy” defines BAE—no matter the business objective/strategy they are trying to achieve, they are their own worst enemy and any long-term success will be held back by the poor culture that permeates throughout the organization. Leaving this place was the best decision I ever made.

Advice to Management

Invest in your people and treat them with humanity.

Pros

Good tools Technology availability Plenty of work Multiple work sites Training availability

Cons

Large company Multiple work sites Many customers Locations No pension plan