Rating Mathematica a 2.5: there are pros, but they're increasingly hard to see
Pros
The quality assurance principles at Mathematica are fantastic and set the company apart from its peers. You will feel confident in the products you deliver to clients because they are thoroughly vetted—not all companies can say the same. If you have a question or need to work through the best way to do a task, people are very open to talking with you and offering guidance. Mentorship and quality of projects varies greatly by who you know. Some people are lucky enough to work with senior staff who take an interest in them, but it is not uncommon to hear people at the C level who have been trying to break into different project areas for years without much success. The company is also flexible and generous with their work from home policy. As far as the office culture, people are friendly. I didn’t feel Mathematica was particularly introverted.
Cons
First, let me reiterate the critique from another recent review: “retention has become a major issue - good people are leaving the company at a steady pace due to the lack of any semblance of work-life balance and limited opportunities for growth. Corporate leadership is aware of the issues but they ascribe to the “burn out and replace” management philosophy.” This comment was true to my experience. People in the international, health, and admin divisions (e.g., comms) are staffed well above 100% for months on end. Employees are expected to be available after they leave the office and on weekends to meet deadlines. The junior staff (B levels) do this work without appropriate compensation as they are encouraged by project directors to not report overtime worked. There is an idea that everyone at Mathematica is nice, and most are, but the energy of the office feels stressed out and antisocial due to everyone being stretched beyond their bandwidth. Almost no one takes a lunch break away from their desk. So good employees are leaving. They would rather have a work/life balance or at least be paid at market rate for their time and effort. Mathematica is a consulting company, but it doesn’t pay like one or recognize (and compensate) hours logged. Employees are only evaluated for promotions once per year and there is no meaningful bonus to speak of before the D level. Salaries are also not adjusted based on office location—this matters given our offices are in extremely expensive places. For C level staff and below, yearly raises are essentially the cost of inflation.
