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Applied Research Associates

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Complacency and indifference. Teams are siloed away from one another - Anonymous employee Applied Research Associates Employee Review

1.0
Oct 1, 2022
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Inviting work environment. At least on the surface. People are nice. My direct supervisor cared for me and attempted to help with any issue.

Cons

Culture. The most blatant issue. Each division is so far removed from each other its like ARA is several companies under one conglomerate. Some are better than others, but you don't know until you work there. There's a lot of "this isn't my problem" from other teams and upper management meaning your problems are your own; don't expect support if you need it. Compensation, I was underpaid for my role and overworked. I delivered on my projects as best I could, but ultimately the lack of support from my management meant nothing could be done. Office politics, there are some genuinely intelligent and kind people here but a lot of them are two-faced. Unfortunately, some inappropriate and unprofessional behavior exists behind closed doors. Before I left, there was a notable increase in the turnover rate. Lifers in the company seem unwilling to change the status quo to help grow the company. Red tape, understandably we work as a federal contractor and must meet certain documentation requirements to be compliant with our customer and their regulations, but we can do away with at least 20% of our internal paperwork.

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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