US Forest Service Employee Reviews about "upper management"
66% would recommend to a friend
(18 total reviews)
Vicki Christiansen
63% approve of CEO
Found 18 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 "upper management"
Return to all Reviews- 4.0Jan 25, 2018Biological Science TechnicianCurrent Employee, more than 1 yearDenver, CO
Pros
I've worked 4 seasons with them as a Biological Sciences Technician which meant a large amount of field work. In all cases I did good meaningful work. I lived in beautiful places, had a great time outdoors, and learned and learned a lot about nature. I worked with professionals, doing jobs right instead of cutting corners like in the private sector. We were not contractors or consultants looking to milk the client. The attitude was always "Let's get 'er done". Everyone bad mouths the bureaucracy but it was actually no worse, or even better at times, than the Fortune 500 companies I worked for. I did dent a truck once but o HR action was taken because, as the joke goes, "the paper work was enough punishment" :) So yes there is paperwork.
Cons
Basically you are working for 436 dysfunctional bosses. Budget cuts, shutdowns, and arbitrary changes in direction have become more frequent. Upper management and appointees often lose touch with what issuing on on the ground. There is too much emphasis on fire fighting, it should be moved over to FEMA. Due to cuts it is hard to get in with out extensive experience or education unless you are a veteran (which I agree with). This is a job you do for lifestyle, not so much for the pay.
1 - 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 - 5.0Nov 19, 2020Public Affairs OfficerCurrent EmployeeSan Bernardino, CA
Pros
Upper management really cares for its employees.
Cons
Sometimes you just can't avoid the politics of Washington DC.
- 4.0May 22, 2019Senior FirefighterFormer Employee
Pros
Amazing experiences across the united states.
Cons
The political climate of upper management is discouraging.
- 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.
- 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
- 4.0Feb 14, 2022Anonymous EmployeeFormer EmployeeWatersmeet, MI
Pros
Great job, with lots of lateral opportunities.
Cons
Horrible onboarding and slow bureaucratic process. Upper management often seems out of touch with the boots on the ground.
