NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory Employee Reviews about "manager"

Cons

• Lack of centralized leadership (little to no communication of vision and values) • Can get lost in monotonous labor because the managers don't communicate the value you bring so I was quickly frustrated • There was a surprising amount of business politics that got in the way of effective practices, which is discouraging • The structure is 100% hierarchical, which means you have no say on really anything, but they oddly act like you do • Weird encouragement to innovate and speak out, but when someone does that there is a ton of red tape to prevent them • Honestly, I chose not to work or apply there in the future because of the slow, old structure and discouraging culture, so it was just a resume builder • If you're not an engineer or a scientist, then you're kind of treated like a second-class wage-Slave ~ I felt like I didn't belong there • The work was demeaning ~ a do what I tell you even if I don't explain why expectation • They talk about interns as if they're 'cheap labor' and they give tedious tasks and act like you're a burden in their life

Cons

Managers consider time at your desk as only productive time no room to grow in your career low pay - coupled with being located in one of the most expensive places to live in the US poor benefits despite what HR says horrible harassment by managershorrible harassment by managershorrible harassment by managers that is tolerated by all including HR Managers will threaten you if you complain

Cons

There a a lot of different system used to pulled data from. This makes the learning curve very steep and it takes a long time to get familiar with how to extract data.

Cons

Has lost its direction, and its major funding sources. Has moved further away from space exploration in favor of DoD work. Experience base is being lost with layoff of more senior workers in favor of new grads. Salaries are being driven down, no raises in years. Mid-level managers are scrambling to protect themselves and their allies. Morale is very low.

Cons

I can only speak for the science section of JPL rather than the engineering side. It's still an academic environment with the same stigma as a top tier university. In academia, one's life is usually defined by their work. I have managers that work all the time and send emails at odd hours of the night. Projects move very fast and you're often juggling 2-4 projects at a time. Not all will lead to publications either usually projects are more focused on a deliverable data product/service rather than a publication. When you're employed you sign away rights to your intellectual property. In the sciences/academia, you're expected to write funding proposals and publications and at JPL these projects will ultimately fall under the IP of the company. However, little to no company time is given to employees to write proposals/publications which means if you want to advance your own bibliography expect to work nights and weekends.

Cons

Some organizations have too many reviews. Technology development has been ignored recently and some very good people have been let go (it is the same for all NASA now). Budget uncertainty from year to year because of the political football that is NASA. Some managers have no business being managers because they can't delegate (this is true across NASA).

Cons

I can't think of any cons.

Cons

* Though one almost always feels like part of the team, it's easy to feel like a little cog in a big machine. * Work tends to be divided by managers into pieces that can be individually accomplished, leading to little direct collaboration (though this might be a Pro for some). * JPL is very set in it's ways. Change is very slow and usually requires a vocal response from many people. * Though one's job is usually secure, advancement, particularly from lower levels can be difficult. Much of this stems from the fact that most JPLers are older and have held onto their positions for decades. * Another consequence of the unusual age distribution at JPL is that there are more managers than necessary. * Most of the buildings are old, and although they are well maintained, they hardly inspire those who work within. * Pay is underwhelming. * Parking can be challenging.

Cons

Training, pay, medical benefits could be improved