Pros
I was at Abt for nearly a decade, best second job (should have been my first). A lot of growth occurred in the first 5 years. - My manager helped me develop a lot of my technical skills. While our practice leader leveraged our skills to help out across the company. They were mindful and helped me manage work-life balance, which becomes very difficult when working for different groups with conflicting interests and goals. (before 2017 changes) - Allowed to use vacation which I had not earned yet - Kind and smart co-workers - Free parking, for now - Great garden space for summer lunches; We even had a veggie garden to grow and take home fresh produce.
Cons
- Rough patch is an understatement. Morale has been really low since Nov - With the layoff of some; it forced too many to fill in shoes that they weren't ready for. It disrupted work-life balance for many. - Leadership is now non-existent; most were in survival fear mod - Lost a lot of the true Data Scientist in the company - Don't expect market rate salaries as a developers or programmers. Making it very difficult to hire junior programmers. - Work around 45 hours weekly, up to 55 hours per week (unpaid) - Clear lack of diversity among division staff - mostly white - Used to have a really great HSA health plan, which had low premiums and low risk (e.g., 0% co-insurance after-deductions, in case something serious occurred); along with an opportunity to save and invest unused money if healthy. - Never figured out how an employee owned company makes important decisions - In recent years the company has relayed too much on outside consultants for its IT infrastructure and HR Health Benefits. And the staff in IT and HR don't seem to fully grasp what is being advised to them. And we have suffered the consequence of the decision made: the unreasonable rate and deductions for the HSA healthcare plan ; and lack of reliable analytic platform.