US Forest Service Employee Reviews about "management"
66% would recommend to a friend
(97 total reviews)
Vicki Christiansen
63% approve of CEO
Found 97 of over 1K reviews
Updated Nov 28, 2023
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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "Great people and fun to meet the people camping and enjoying the national forest and national parks." (in 81 reviews)
- "Hostile Work Environment: The agency is extremely cliquey; it pays poorly and employees are under chronic stress due to ongoing poor management and budget turmoil." (in 25 reviews)
- "Upper management is crippled by political influences and those hired to make decisions are incapable of thinking like a business person." (in 10 reviews)
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This rating reflects the overall rating of US Forest Service and is not affected by filters.
Reviews about "management"
Return to all Reviews- 2.0Oct 6, 2011Anonymous EmployeeFormer EmployeeBoise, ID
Pros
Great benefits Flexible hours if approved by supervisor Challenging work Advancement opportunities if you're willing to relocate or if you have a bachelor's degree
Cons
Disconnect between upper management and support staff Unprofessional behavior tolerated Inability to adopt newer, more efficient ways of doing things
1 - 2.0May 5, 2021ForesterCurrent EmployeeConifer, CO
Pros
Fed Employee Health Benefits Pension Work outside (although this is getting more difficult to do).
Cons
Abysmal pay. SERIOUS problems with harrassment, hostile work environment and incompetent administrators. Will not and did not let many employees telework during Covid despite their positions lending themselves well to a virtual setting. Dysfunctional and prehistoric business model. About 10 years behind private industry. Itinerant leadership only cares about climbing the ladder. Extremely old and limited use of technology that private industry has been using for years. Very poor organizational structure from the 1950's. Upper management that has never been in a Forest. Local management very incestuous. Takes forever and requires multiple approvals for even the most inane tasks. Management does not trust it's employees. Extremely hierarchical org often discounts and dismisses people of a lower 'GS' level.
1 - 4.0Nov 10, 2014InternCurrent EmployeeClovis, CA
Pros
You are able to create your own schedule. I'm a full time student so school comes first and they completely understand that. Very flexible, always get the days I want off as long as I've finished all my priority projects. Even though I mostly work indoors there are always opportunities in the summer for me to go out into the field and experience our beautiful forest.
Cons
Disorganized at times. Management is very busy so at times it can be very difficult to get ahold of them. Computer software is also updated and can be very slow.
1 - 3.0Jan 28, 2022Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, more than 1 year
Pros
Beautiful areas and rewarding work. Good benefits.
Cons
Low pay, hard to find housing in areas, constantly asked to do more work with less money and fewer people. Upper management is incompetent when you can even get in touch with them at all.
- 5.0Nov 30, 2016Restoration TechnicianFormer Contractor, less than 1 yearEagle, CO
Pros
Work is outside most of the time. Not a lot of overhead once job is learned; autonomy. Really just a ton of fun as well as challenging.
Cons
Some upper management have become complacent and effectively useless but overall not so. Some favoritism which I did not like.
- 1.0Apr 11, 2023EngineerFormer EmployeeVancouver, WA
Pros
Work was ok. Management was toxic
Cons
Management was toxic and abusive.
- 3.0Aug 2, 2019Forestry TechnicianFormer Employee, less than 1 yearAlpine, AZ
Pros
Working outdoors in beautiful wilderness areas. Good pay. Health insurance. Housing. Friendly work culture.
Cons
Management can be inefficient and ineffective. Physical labor is intense depending on your supervisor. Can be isolating work.
- 2.0Aug 4, 2014Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, more than 10 years
Pros
The federal government has pretty good benefits, although new employees pay higher amounts into the pension program. In general the co-workers are good people and will make coming to work still worth the effort.
Cons
Upper management is crippled by political influences and those hired to make decisions are incapable of thinking like a business person. Typically they know little about the land they were hired to manage. Hence you will accomplish little other than trying to make their performance look good to their boss.
3 - 3.0Dec 14, 2016Hydrologic TechnicianFormer Intern, less than 1 yearPrice, UT
Pros
* Working in a Federal Organization * Levels/ranking of Authority well defined * Well defined job responsibilities and notification of desired out-come * Benefits
Cons
* Planning and notification of job site for each day could be refined * Seemed to be excess tension between management and supervisory staff * To which upper management seemed to turn a blind eye to
- 3.0May 12, 2022Team LeaderCurrent Employee
Pros
great benefits and pay and some honest people to work with
Cons
poor and unfair management practices
