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Applied Research Associates

Is this your company?

Good people, diverse work, low pay and old fashioned - Staff Data Scientist Applied Research Associates Employee Review

3.0
Apr 15, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

"Science for fun and for profit" is the company motto. The variety of projects is impressive and management really cares about you finding a project that you enjoy working on. If you stop enjoying the project you are on, they will work hard to find you a new one. Great work environment. I've never been a part of a company where I liked my coworkers this much. Everyone is eager to help and understanding when problems arise. The benefits package is pretty nice, although I have to be honest in that I don't know how good the benefits are at other companies.

Cons

The pay is not competitive. In fact its very far from the average for my position. There is a large amount of pressure to seek and aquire contracts/projects for the company. It's even a performance report goal/criteria. While that might be appealing to some I find it somewhat off putting. I'd rather do research and make cool software. The company is somewhat old fashioned. There is a large amount of resistance to remote work, even though people go to their separate offices and rarely interact unless you run into then in the bathroom.

Explore other reviews about Applied Research Associates

5.0
Dec 4, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work life balance Flexibility Benefits

Cons

Pay could be better but for starting salary is good enough

1
1.0
Apr 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The pay (after negotiation) is comparable to some other offers that I got from other companies

Cons

- If you want work life balance, this is NOT the place for you. You’re expected to bring in externally contracts to cover your salary. While they do allocate hours for contract proposal writing, most of the time, it’s never enough. You’ll end up working overtime and during weekends most of the time. - If you enjoy doing research, this is NOT the place for you. During my interviews, I asked how long a typical project would be, they all said it’s usually a few years. But the fact is, it all depends on the clients. If the clients say stop working on a project, you have to stop. Within the last year, a lot of their contracts got terminated, so people has to stop working and no pay. - If you enjoy doing rigorous research, this is NOT the place for you. People here tend to oversell their skills and knowledge to sell themselves to the clients or government agencies, so they could get the contracts. If they sell successfully and get the contracts, but then there is no time to really learn the necessary skills. Sloppy work has to be rushed because of the clients’ demands. - If you want sick leaves or maternity leaves, this is NOT the place for you. They do have PTO, but it’s not enough. Most people took unpaid time off for months when they had kids.

3
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