Benefits are amazing and work is always changing and exciting. There are numerous opportunities to grow education and knowledge. The culture is laid back and friendly.
Cons
Pay is lower than industry. Bonuses and raises not common. Work is effected by the state of the government which can cause halts on hiring and projects.
MIT Lincoln Laboratory Response
11y
Thank you for your comments and recognition of some of the advantages of employment at Lincoln Laboratory. As a Federally Funded Research and Development Center we are more constrained than industry but we do maintain a very competitive and attractive total compensation system. It is true that we are not market driven, which can be a real advantage in a research environment. To some degree we may be impacted by government decisions but our management actively works to minimize impact of that on the work force. These are tradeoffs that each individual must make based on their needs and ambitions. Overall employment at the Lab can be very rewarding on a lot of levels.
Explore other reviews about MIT Lincoln Laboratory
It can vary a lot from group to group, but in general, wonderful place with wonderful people and lots of interesting work going on. Excellent benefits and lots of flexibility to explore different projects.
Cons
Little opportunity for advancement in terms of rank and compensation once you reach technical staff. Additionally (again varies from group to group) expectations of what a staff member does can be unclear and there can be a light sink-or-swim nature to the work, again depending on the group you're in.
Worked with some of the smartest people I’ve ever known.
Great opportunities to learn from your coworkers and an atmosphere that encourages learning, including a well-run technical education program.
Fabulous support staff and technicians that can get seemingly impossible things done quickly.
Great resources and lab spaces (if a bit dated).
The nature of the work encourages good work/life balance.
Fantastic benefits (though the pay is low).
Cons
No/limited opportunities for advancement makes this a hard place to work mid-career.
Good engineers are promoted to be mediocre managers.
Every program is under-funded, under-staffed, and over schedule.
Bad managers are shuffled around but rarely fired.