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SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory

Engaged Employer

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory reviews

4.0

71% would recommend to a friend

(317 total reviews)

John Sarrao

71% approve of CEO

68% positive business outlook

SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 317 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Government & Public Administration industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

317 reviews
2.0
Sep 8, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Stanford Benefits with higher pay than the main campus. If you work in a good group then it is a very cool place to work. The new Director has made some noteworthy changes but still needs to weed out a lot of bad apples across the site.

Cons

The laboratory still has many single points of failure in terms of infrastructure and people. The majority of middle managers are empire builders and use their staff to further their own career. They have one Admin Staff Manager who runs each directorate and half of could not run the kiddie train at the petting zoo. Most people in high or mid management positions got there because they kissed the right butts or golfed with them. When something goes wrong the little guy takes the blame while the managers escape unscathed with a BONUS! I left because my boss was a micro-manager with a bad attitude. She treated the staff like dirt and acted like everyone besides her was stupid. The director likes her for some reason so she isn't going anywhere unless there is a change at the top. I figured it was time to go somewhere else and not waste my time in such a venomous work environment.

3.0
Sep 3, 2013

Fair

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There is prestige in working for an nationally recognized laboratory that conducts advance research in high energy physics

Cons

The work is not distributed equally among staff with some member being over burden

2.0
Jul 15, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

In the last few years many have been hired into business operations to update outdated business practices and systems. Being government funded they've completed the arduous task of obtaining needed funding to overhaul their business systems. Those in bus ops motivated to make this change happen.

Cons

Unfortunately there is not substantive support from the top to enable bus ops to easily move from an old, heavily customized system to current best business practices. The culture there is so resistant to change, that without meaningful support from the top, part of the collateral damage includes a lack of willingness to give bus ops the authority to do their job. This in turn causes the turnover rate to be high at all levels. People in bus ops are willing to fight the good fight, but without substantive support from the top, I suspect the high turnover rate will continue.

Viewing 289 - 291 of 317 Reviews

Glassdoor has 404 SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory reviews submitted anonymously by SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory is right for you.