Pros
- Like another reviewer said, it's income when many are out of work. Pay rate is falling behind a bit, but still decent. - Decent bonus plan, when times are good, but it varies so much from one year to the next, so don't count on it for much. - People: many of the scientist who work here are some of the best in the business; they know a lot, share a lot, and smile while doing so. Just as long as management isn't around to put a stop to it. - Locations: locations are pretty decent; good facilities nearby, and depending on where you live, your commute is against traffic, which helps.
Cons
- Horrible executive staff: VPs and directors are awful; they run the show according to nepotism, cronyism, and every other "ism" you can think of. 4 out of 5 of them are some of the worst human beings I have ever met, with no exaggeration. The few good ones are forced to just play along. - Horrible HR people: MBAs who've learned the art of playing dumb; If you apply here, write your resume word-for-word what's in the job listing, otherwise it will be too complicated for them. - Middle management is hit-or-miss. Some of them can be the most loyal, hardworking, supportive and inspiring people ever. Others have no business even working with other people, let alone being in a leadership role. The good ones usually leave soon, so don't get used to it. Speaking of leaving... - Turnover: Staff turns over like the ocean during a storm. There one week, gone the next. Can't really blame people for leaving since, aside from the other cons: - No career growth, unless you brown-nose, and even then you'll only get so far. I have no idea what their "Leadership" training camp is supposed to teach, but it accomplishes nothing. In fact, some folks came back from this training even worse than before. - Silos: I worked there for 5 years before I even knew other people worked with the same material I did. I'm all for protecting IP, but, seriously? 5 years of collaboration lost. - Used consultants to decide direction, not innovation. While the top 2 companies innovate with new technologies and new research platforms, IFF wastes money on consultants to tell them what to do and where the fat is. Surprise, there wasn't much fat, so everything stayed the same. Zero growth in productivity.
