Great place to stimulate your mind while contributing to society - Anonymous employee RAND Employee Review

5.0
Oct 19, 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

RAND is full of brilliant minds. Folks of all disciplinary backgrounds come together to work on really interesting projects that matter to policy realms, not just in the US but globally. There's never a lack of interesting projects--it's a candy store, nay, a candy factory for nerds who want to apply their minds to some high profile challenges we face today. Amazing location (SM), by the Santa Monica beach/3rd street Promenade, great weather, flexible work schedule... I can go on and on.

Cons

You make your own salary--if you have projects to bill, then work on as many projects as you need. If you don't, then you gotta scramble. It keeps everyone on their toes and is an interesting incentive mechanism, but it could be stressful if you're in a field where money is tight (i.e. non-defense or non-health research areas).

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5.0
May 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Really flexible hours, amazing project team members, engaging projects.

Cons

You will need to network and find your own projects, sometimes finding ~3-5 projects at one time to ensure full utilization.

4.0
Jul 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Interesting work, some brilliant colleagues, access to senior decision makers throughout government.

Cons

Stressful trying to stay fully staffed on projects (i.e., internal market within RAND)

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