Great place for self-starters who happen to be workaholics - Anonymous employee Exponent Employee Review

5.0
Oct 12, 2012
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Variety is the spice of life. No boss to speak of, other than the client. Crazy schedule and fast burn projects make things exciting. Salary starts out a bit on the low side for the expectations and workload, but high performance is definitely rewarded, especially when you get to the manager level and above. Once you get to principal you have the golden handcuffs firmly in place. This place is a total meritocracy. Individual performance based on billable hours is measured, quantified and reported on a weekly basis to everyone in the company. Loafers and people who don't come up to speed quickly with the corporate culture don't survive long. You are surrounded by high performing, brilliant colleagues from top universities. Hard to think of a better environment to strut your stuff. If you just graduated with a Ph.D. from a top university and want to know if you've got what it takes to compete against the best, brightest and hardest working Ph.D.s from the other top universities, then Exponent might be the place for you.

Cons

Work-life balance very difficult (dare I say impossible) to achieve. This is definitely a company for workaholics. Raw performance is measured and rewarded, so if you are someone who thinks they can rest on their laurels and prior success, don't bother. If your spouse doesn't have a career and wants to stay home with the kids, this may be the perfect place for you. Heaven help you if you are a dual income household with two career minded partners. Nearly all of senior management is divorced or is married to a spouse who has no professional career. No formalized training to speak of. This is a sink or swim career path. You either get it or you don't. You must be a self-starter and come up to speed very quickly, otherwise you will be looking for your next job less than a year after your start date.

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5.0
Mar 17, 2026
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CEO approval
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Pros

Good benefits and great culture

Cons

Inconsistent workload but partly due to the nature of the business

2
2.0
Jun 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Many consultants successfully use Exponent as a stepping stone to larger tech companies. The project work can sometimes be very interesting and some consultants appreciate overtime and bonuses for long hours (albeit many feel they would earn more overall compensation at larger tech companies).

Cons

The company has very high expectations of its consultants and doesn't always provide the resources necessary to achieve their expectations. In order to grow after the first few years, consultants are generally expected to generate their own business, but some junior consultants feel they are not fairly given credit for business they help bring in. Many consultants feel the performance rewards are too delayed.

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