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U.S. Food and Drug Administration Employee Reviews about "flexible work schedule"
Updated Nov 29, 2023
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Found 948 of over 1K reviews
79% Recommend to a Friend
86% Approve of CEO
Found 35 of over 1K reviews
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Margaret Hamburg, M.D.
261 Ratings
Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
Pros
- "Flexible work schedules after your probation is completed and OT and/or CT can be earned quite easily working weekends." (in 21 reviews)
Cons
- "The FDA has a lot of talented employees, but upper management doesn't know or care how to use the expertise of these individuals." (in 9 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
This rating reflects the overall rating of U.S. Food and Drug Administration and is not affected by filters.
Reviews about "flexible work schedule"
Return to all Reviews- 4.0Dec 28, 2015Anonymous EmployeeCurrent EmployeeRound Hill, VA
Pros
Flexible work schedule. Good benefits. Grandfathered into a good pension program. Day to day work-life balance program is great. Work is beneficial to public health.
Cons
Compensation lags behind that of the public sector, where the work sometimes seems equal. The travel process is very laborious and some employees feel that it is unfair.
- 3.0Sep 14, 2016Consumer Safety OfficerFormer Employee, more than 10 yearsSan Pedro, CA
Pros
Good place to work with flexible schedule.
Cons
Management sucks! Need to be more sensitive to employee needs.
1 - 3.0Jun 24, 2023InvestigatorCurrent EmployeeNashville, TN
Pros
Flexible work schedule is available.
Cons
Significant amount of travel is required.
- 4.0Oct 22, 2013Biomedical EngineerCurrent Intern, less than 1 yearSilver Spring, MD
Pros
Stability. Work friendly environment. Work schedule allows for work life balance because of the accrued time system.
Cons
Federal funding structure makes it difficult to acquire a full time position with the agency. You only get in through networking and paying your dues!
- 4.0Oct 24, 2018Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee
Pros
Very family oriented. Very flexible work schedule.
Cons
Parking is terrible but they have Parking Assistants to help with parking in the garages.
- 5.0Sep 30, 2021Senior AccountantCurrent EmployeeSilver Spring, MD
Pros
Flexible Work Schedule 11 paid federal holidays
Cons
May have to pull weight of the lower performing employees
- 4.0Nov 15, 2012Regulatory Health Project ManagerCurrent Employee, more than 5 yearsSilver Spring, MD
Pros
- Flexible Work Schedule -Telecommuting encouraged - Work with smart people Working at FDA is not a lazy government job. There are exciting things happening in the world of drug development and the results are seen firsthand in your job. If you are interested in leading edge medicine this job is for you.
Cons
-Large workload -telecommuting expenses not reimbursed (i.e. internet, printer needs) The new FDA campus is running out of room and employees are expected to address this issue by working at home more and giving up desk space. The planning process for the campus was not well thought out. Additionally, the workload of senior management is large and this creates a bottleneck in completing tasks. Although they are willing to delegate some items, it is by no means done enough.
3 - 3.0Dec 15, 2017Public Affairs SpecialistCurrent Employee, more than 5 yearsSilver Spring, MD
Pros
Flexible work schedule (most employees telework 1-2 days per week) Beautiful campus (White Oak) Multiple divisions/offices so it is easy to transfer jobs if needed
Cons
Like most agencies, there are a lot employees just biding their time until retirement, therefore there is a lack of creativity or willingness to think outside the box. Not very millennial-friendly It can be difficult to advance within a department, which is why people tend to bounce around to other offices to get promotions.
3 - 4.0Oct 28, 2015MicrobiologistCurrent Employee, more than 3 yearsJefferson, AR
Pros
It's the government so your choice of some of the best vision, dental, and health insurance. A very good retirement plan if you choose the right one. As long as you do your job and don't blow up the lab, you're assured a promotion each year, at least this holds true at my lab. People are very kind and they usually have some kind of luncheon every so often. The work is easy most of the time and challenging once in a blue moon. Since our workload is dictated by the amount of money Congress allots us, we can only work the samples that are sent to us by CSOs. Thus, the trend is it's usually busier in the summer and a tad slower in the winter. Therefore, you find things to do with your time not in the lab. Living in Little Rock is cheap with your dollar going very far so it's ideal for post-graduates. It's definitely a great place to start, with the government. You will travel around the country for trainings and they usually put you up in decent hotels. Flexible work schedules after your probation is completed and OT and/or CT can be earned quite easily working weekends. Van/car pools available to alleviate the long commute (some types are reimbursable).
Cons
Remember how I said you have down time? Well to some people it can be maddening. In fact, some days will seem like an eternity because of it. But again, there isn't much you can do about it. The commute is a bit of a bear. Although there is no traffic in Little Rock (compared to living in an actual city), highway driving for 35-45 minutes one way, everyday, can get old real fast. The lab is in the middle of nowhere, literally. Expect to bring a lunch or torture your bowels with the cafeteria food sold onsite. On that same note, phone reception is very poor. The first time you roll up to the lab you'll pass through the country resembling any horror movie about hillfolk. The lab is open everyday all year so working weekends/holidays is required, but you can trade with another analyst if they are willing. Structurally, it is a relatively new building, built in ~2001. Aesthetically, the inside is drab and dull. Management tried to remedy this by hanging up pictures analysts had taken, but there are more blank spaces on the walls than pictures so it has little of the intended effect. The analysts are divided into 3 teams and the supervisors tend to agree with each other, but there are "things" that one team does that another will not. People here are usually quaint and cordial with each other, but because there are some people that live to gossip more than they should (perhaps this is everywhere?). This is to the point where you just avoid certain people. Management does their best to appease the analysts but sometimes our suggestions are either brushed off, excessively explained that they are not needed, or will flat-out say they won't do it for an unspecified reason. Not many people know how to move up in the FDA, with exception to the immediate step of supervisor. You ask management about the opportunities in the FDA and they will tell you there are many but nothing really specific. If you expect to move up you need to already know someone in high places. When the monotony of the job sinks in, and it will eventually, you start to question why you took this job in the first place. This is why networking is so very important. If you know someone way up they might be able to advise and help you find something better suited for your talents. If you just want a 9-5 job then this isn't a problem. People come here to die. But once you get here, it's difficult to get leave on your own.
- 4.0Jul 18, 2016Anonymous EmployeeFormer Employee
Pros
work life balance. flexible work schedule.
Cons
compensation is not too competitive
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