Pros
- Getting to work on the cutting edge of science - employer retirement contributions - top notch healthcare plan - competitive pay - annual bonuses based on performance (3-4%) - proactive leadership on retaining talent - Great work/life balance - Great commuter benefits (parking garage cost subsidized and commuter benefits) - Great private Novartis dining halls (subsidized food/meal costs)(Cambridge, MA) - Unique opportunities for collaboration (globally) - Even if there's a layoff, Novartis (NIBR) prioritized retaining talent and placing them internally in another group first over handing out a severance check - Summer Ice cream truck once a week
Cons
- A lot of big pharma typical buracracy (slow moving on everything from noval ideas, approvals, permission, payment, PO's etc) - Really hard to get promoted and move up (start-ups are way better for career progression) - Comfortable place for some to just hang out in their career (and do) - Novartis has dialed back on putting money into making their employee's happy like company quarterly parties, events, happy hours etc. (cost cutting) and it was very obvious and started to kill the social culture (example: an all-day employee appreciation offsite event was held at a fun spot, but they refused to pay for the whole event (alcoholic drinks were available but you had to pay for them (kind of strange) and only had hot dogs and hamburgers and basic sides). It felt very skimpy.
