J-PAL Reviews

Pros

- Supportive, collaborative work culture - High expectations - Smart and passionate peers

Cons

- Little room for upward mobility

Pros

Supports team environment attitude

Cons

Independent working is often the leading mentality

Pros

Unparalleled training on impact evaluation and rigorous research. Mission driven staff, very talented colleagues.

Cons

The organization is at the intersection of academia and policy and does not always navigate that divide well (i.e. academics are often more concerned about publishing than social impact and the reverse is often the case for staff).

Pros

- smart coworkers - great office culture/good place to make friends - flexible hours - good mix of fieldwork - skills you learn on the job make you exceptionally marketable for grad school in the US/any jobs in policy and research.

Cons

- salary is a bit low for the sector

Pros

Able to get into the details of the research, everyone was friend.

Cons

None that I can think of.

Pros

- Great place to gain field experience - Get to learn diff parts of an org - admin, finance, research - Very supportive team and colleagues

Cons

- Work hours can be crazy and get out of hand if team is not supportive - Many times it may feel that you've been thrown into the sea and have to figure it out yourself.

Pros

Innovative and important work in international development, super friendly colleagues, lots of opportunities for professional development and international travel, very accessible senior leadership from managers to executive director, open culture of up and down feedback and coaching, work from home Thursdays, pizza lunches and happy hours, almost no evening or weekend emails.

Cons

Not much work directly with majority of affiliated professors. Steep learning curve on existing research. Hours can be long when special projects come from regions or grants. Salary is average for non-profit world but don't expect to save a ton given Cambridge rents (though MIT benefits are nice). Be prepared for long and cold winter coming from warmer weather.

Advice to Management

Even though overall work life balance is fine, need to improve ups and downs in work hours to prevent burn out during special projects. Need more admin support for events and travel. Promote more racial diversity in hiring affiliates and staff. Raise salaries especially increase after promotions is not very high.

Pros

There is a lot to learn at this job, and some of your coworkers will be outstanding. This organization has done remarkable things in the past, but I am not sure what the future holds for it.

Cons

I worked as a manager here for over 2 years and boy, was this an unhappy place to be. First, I need to clarify: this is a huge organization. There are offices all over the world. I worked in the Cambridge office. The overall executive director of this organization verbally abuses his employees to the point that they literally cry (this did not happen to me, but to many others). It is remarkable to see this type... of treatment tolerated in a modern-day workforce, but it is allowed because it is really not that out of line with the culture. The culture, is, in general, extremely hierarchical. Employees lower down the ladder are directly devalued, to the point that it is assumed they are not going to stay for over two years. Managers are also not treated very well, and there is little actual room for advancement. During my time at the organization over half of the managers left. Several others left in the months after I departed.

Advice to Management

I really don't understand why such an unhappy culture is tolerated at this organization.