Not the science-based company it used to be. - Associate Principal Scientist Merck Employee Review

3.0
Apr 22, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Decent pay, good colleagues. At the working level, there can be some really good collaborations and people who take pride in their work.

Cons

Management no longer seems to know what they're doing and changes the game plan from year to year. Stress level can be very high and the layoffs and turnover do not help. Merck used to hold itself to a higher standard than the rest of the industry and was proud to pay at the 75th percentile on average and a few years ago shifted down to the 50th--a clear signal they're no longer holding that standard. They maintain during the year-end reviews they "pay for performance", so if they are now paying average instead of above average, what does that say?

Explore other reviews about Merck

5.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Excellent company to work with.

Cons

No cons encountered so far

4.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits like medical/dentist/vision, pension, stock option, 401k match. Co workers are excellent, pretty good on site symposiums, lot of diversity clubs/activities. Innovation is extremely welcomed. Diversity in research portfolio. AI/ML is heavily invested to make databases more efficient.

Cons

Micro managing, especially within the biologics department, potentially others. Promotions are limited, and pay bump is poor. Company invests too much in buying companies rather than keeping talent - lay offs let go of great talented people. Merck is afraid of investing into exploratory biology and doesn’t take risk - they even admit they would rather see other companies clinical data or R&D data rather than taking a risk. Although it’s slow going in building new software, current databases are slow and needs much improvement. Extremely poor work/life balance.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All