Burn brightly, burn out fast - Software Engineer MIT Employee Review

* Mass layoffs for the next few months (probably year) with only 2 weeks of notice. * Pressure for growth model. They put a lot of pressure on you and expect you to grow and learn quickly but burn out fast. Then they expect you to leave. (If they want you to leave, the scientists you work for start saying you aren't getting your work done and people treat you like garbage.) * Senior scientists have little to no interest in mentoring junior staff and new hires. You sink or swim on your own. REU students are coddled by comparison. * Principal investigators tend to waste/use funding for other purposes other than the work it was awarded to for years and then pressure you to finish the work with the remaining of the funding at the last minute. * Many scientists are there for the wrong reasons; They want to be famous, on T.V., and doing interviews. They don't care about the future of the fields they are in. * Not enough funding to funding fixing or replacing hardware that is over 15 years old that is used for scientific experiments on a daily basis. * Resistance to change and using modern technology. * Many scientists appear to be (legitimately) on the spectrum and have communication issues with typical individuals; These communication issues are not addressed. * Waste a lot of funding on sending scientists on expensive, week-long business trips where meals are comped up to $75 per meal per person. 3x per day. * Gossip, workplace slander. * "Boy's club" depending on the department or lab. I.e. secret golf club only male scientists are invited to. * DEI is performative and surface level after the recent election. The administration was cowed by recent events. * I have not met a single person that liked being a student here. * HR is ineffective and performative. * Sexual harassment and stalking are swept under the rug. * The administration prioritizes staying out of the headlines over protecting staff.