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MDRC Reviews
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Gordon Berlin
29 Ratings
Pros
"Great work-life balance (for non-exempt staff at least)" (in 8 reviews)
"Very smart people who are thoughtful and have nuanced understanding of the systems we're operating within" (in 7 reviews)
Cons
"Work life balance could be better; work pace not steady - periods of high and low intensity" (in 4 reviews)
"A little top-heavy (lots of senior people, not so many junior staff)" (in 4 reviews)
Helpful (1)
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"Research Assistant (generalist)"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at MDRC full-time (Less than a year)
Pros
Benefits are great. Co-workers are even better. Can't believe how great my boss is & how welcoming my team-members are. Fortunate to have found a place where I get to work on something I feel passionate about while working in such a great environment.
Cons
Depending on who you work with, somewhat hierarchical. I don't experience that myself but have witnessed it with other teams & have heard from other people that my boss is the best about that kind of issue.
MDRC 2018-10-09 06:55 PDT![MDRC Logo]()
"Revolving Door – People don’t stay, low ball you"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI have been working at MDRC full-time (More than a year)
Pros
People come to when when they want to , take off when they want to , even take unpaid days off. Low paying job, they try to low ball you and try to get you at the lower rate and when it come to raises, they give their top boss the money and feed you table scraps.
Cons
No growth, don't reach team members equally - favoritism big time.
Advice to Management
everybody should get pay/ worth for their years of experiences . more experiences more pay.
MDRC 2019-03-14 18:11 PDTHelpful (1)
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"Important and interesting place to work, but bureaucratic"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI worked at MDRC full-time (More than 3 years)
Pros
Smart and friendly colleagues
The research is rigorous and demanding - challenges that can prompt professional growthCons
The organization is slow to change and some units/staff are hierarchical
The bar to getting promoted from Analyst to Associate is highAdvice to Management
Allow junior staff to make more substantive contributions
Be open to changeMDRC 2019-01-30 15:38 PST![MDRC Logo]()
"Library Assistant"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at MDRC full-time
Pros
MDRC is a great organization dedicated to evidence based research to help the social policy populations they work with. The company just moved to a great new office with a view. They have a congenial work environment with friendly, dedicated staff that support each other.
Cons
The new office location is in an expensive area and there are less cheap food options around.
MDRC 2018-10-04 06:00 PDTHelpful (1)
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"Technical Analyst II"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Positive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at MDRC full-time
Pros
Great work environment and interesting work and opportunity to learn many skills.
Cons
The salaries are low because it is a nonprofit.
MDRC 2018-10-01 19:23 PDT![MDRC Logo]()
"Great place to work"
StarStarStarStarStarRecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI worked at MDRC part-time
Pros
Super smart staff, lovely people, friendly, Democratic, great mission
Cons
Coddle their junior staff too much
MDRC 2018-09-15 06:22 PDTHelpful (4)
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"Research Assistant"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsApproves of CEOI worked at MDRC full-time
Pros
Projects are run by interdisciplinary teams who are committed to the work at hand and incredibly smart. I was able to develop a whole suite of transferable skills while building close relationships with supervisors and project directors. The quality and feel of the job will be project dependent: some are fascinating, cutting-edge projects, while others are more traditional (reform tweaks) that might not be so interesting.
Cons
It has an amazing reputation, but don't expect to get much outward facing credit for the work as an entry-level staff member. You'll be internally valued. They are sought out because they conduct "objective" research grounded in sound methodology and aimed at generalizable result. If you are more advocacy minded, this might not be the best fit.
MDRC 2018-08-31 10:51 PDT![MDRC Logo]()
"Good for 2 years as a starting point, unless you have a PhD. Otherwise, more or less, you will be stuck in a career rut"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNeutral OutlookDisapproves of CEOPros
Many smart people. Good training in SAS programming.
Cons
Elitist, stressful work environment that is also ridden with drama. Poor work-life balance. Horrible pay, long hours (constantly working on 3-5 different projects). Non-Associates (non PhD's)are treated poorly, although favoritism prevails for certain employees. Horrible promotion and learning opportunities (after initial training). At least a third of the work week is spent in meetings, where people talk in circles about the same.
Advice to Management
Complete overhaul of management strategy. Provide actual training in management to managers, as company is mismanaged from top to bottom. Having a master's or a PhD does not a manager make. Employees have to report on a weekly basis to 5 people, in the least, about their weekly tasks/progress.
MDRC 2018-09-23 16:55 PDT![MDRC Logo]()
"Horrible work ethic"
StarStarStarStarStarI worked at MDRC full-time
Pros
Clean
Great CEO
Pretty buildingCons
Certain employees aren’t around to help
Take forever to help with computer issues
Fake environment of people who pretend to care.Advice to Management
Be mindful of how to let someone go because you don’t know what situation they are in.
MDRC 2018-08-24 04:55 PDT![MDRC Logo]()
"Technical Research Analyst"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Comp & Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsNeutral OutlookNo opinion of CEOI worked at MDRC full-time
Pros
Great place to learn programming skills and experimental design.
Cons
Slow pace of work, slow advancement, can be boring.
MDRC 2018-07-02 15:21 PDT
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