Applied Ecology Reviews

I want to first clarify that this review pertains to Applied Ecology of SEATTLE, WASHINGTON. Employees subject to condescension, discrimination against people with disabilities, and unsafe working conditions. You can expect to be commuting anywhere from 40 minutes to 3 hours round trip each day. Employees made to work in heavily wooded areas in high winds, during extremely smokey conditions, and during dangerous heat waves. Additionally, this company uses excessive herbicide and does not provide any amount of respiratory protection. All this and more resulting in HIGH turnover, entire crews of employees leave en masse multiple times per year due to the blatant and excessive disrespect. They tout it as a "stepping stone" for people looking to get into the ecology field, but in reality they are exploiting people who have a real passion in order to profit off their labor. If you're going to risk permanent injury doing ecological restoration, consider applying with the city or state: much more regulation, protections for employees, $30+ hourly and REAL benefits - not just a "paid 30 minute lunch" but health insurance, retirement plans, union support, and so much more.

I really liked this job when I started, but the attitude from management, and the shear cost of working there made it unsustainable. One of the most expensive jobs I've had, you have to drive all over king county with no fuel compensation, you have to buy your own gear and in winter they cut your hours down to 4 9's so you're not even working full time anymore. Management is two people and they don't care about the well being of their employees, and when you raise concerns they're very rude and condescending. AE regularly has full turnover every 6 months because of this.