Very low salary. They would pay you less if they could. Very little PTO/vacation. During the "slow" season, the lab would close to "cut costs" and we would be forced to either use what little PTO/vacation we had, or take the day unpaid. The "costs" they are referring to are hourly employee wages. You won't be able to afford to take an unpaid day. You will be pressured to work very long hours during the busy season. Lunch is an unpaid half hour, just enough time to speed-eat some food and continue the day with a stomach ache. Management has made is clear they do not give a crap about the hourly staff that put in the most work. They will deny livable wages and tell you to your face that you "already make too much" while you're struggling to afford groceries several weeks in a row. They claim they can't increase wages because "that's just the environmental industry" but if you look at corporate, they seem pretty comfortable. Horrible high deductible health insurance. I have never had medical bills like this when I had better insurance. If you're just starting out in your career or planning to make a career shift, this could be a good place to get experience since they seem to hire anyone willing to take the low salary. If you're an experienced professional, they'll barely look at your resume, hire you as entry level, and give you a hard time when you ask for more money. Management literally said out loud "we just need more bodies in here so we can pump out more work."
