Decent place to work but terrible management - Scientist Novartis Employee Review

1.0
Jun 22, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good work life balance and decent teams. Great if you want to learn everything about drug development or if you’re in your late career (ie approaching retirement)

Cons

Poor management and managers. Your career development is completely dependent on the kind of manager you have. If you have a bad manager, you will never move up. Managers don’t care about resolving issues. They constantly revisit the same issues. Any vendor issues take years to address. If you have any issues on your own projects, managers will be of little to no use. If you’re looking to learn everything about drug development, recommend to stay no more than 3 years before moving on. Be on the lookout for managers who are quick to blame associates for issues that are ongoing on projects. Managers love to gossip about associates, so be careful to not share too many personal details. Watch your back and cya…

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5.0
May 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

people are friendly and easy to work with

Cons

daily commute takes longer than expected

2.0
May 25, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pays pretty well in comparison to similar jobs in the market

Cons

Unstable schedule where you are often asked to come in overnight (1-2 am) regardless of if you have worked the previous day or are off. Basically feels like you're permanently on-call to conduct environmental monitoring. Training is slow. The Micro dept in general is currently understaffed. The job also involves lab work once you are done with your daily environmental monitoring tasks. The work never ceases and the Technicians as a whole has several responsibilities. Promotions seem to come very slowly here.

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