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MIT Lincoln Laboratory

Part of MIT

Engaged employer

Great if you want to go to grad school - Assistant Staff MIT Lincoln Laboratory Employee Review

3.0
Jan 22, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The people here are very smart and generally friendly to work with. This is a place that values learning and you will learn a lot, especially if you are coming straight out of undergrad and haven't made a deep dive into anything technical yet. And, depending on your group leadership, you can have a lot of autonomy and freedom in what you work on.

Cons

Management and communication are not great here. They promote people to management positions based on their technical skills, not on their management skills, which sometimes leads to very ineffective managers. People tend to work individually and not communicate very well, even within the same group. You really have to be proactive about communication here. There is also very little opportunity for advancement besides going to grad school and coming back.

Explore other reviews about MIT Lincoln Laboratory

5.0
Jun 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

It can vary a lot from group to group, but in general, wonderful place with wonderful people and lots of interesting work going on. Excellent benefits and lots of flexibility to explore different projects.

Cons

Little opportunity for advancement in terms of rank and compensation once you reach technical staff. Additionally (again varies from group to group) expectations of what a staff member does can be unclear and there can be a light sink-or-swim nature to the work, again depending on the group you're in.

4.0
Jun 17, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Worked with some of the smartest people I’ve ever known. Great opportunities to learn from your coworkers and an atmosphere that encourages learning, including a well-run technical education program. Fabulous support staff and technicians that can get seemingly impossible things done quickly. Great resources and lab spaces (if a bit dated). The nature of the work encourages good work/life balance. Fantastic benefits (though the pay is low).

Cons

No/limited opportunities for advancement makes this a hard place to work mid-career. Good engineers are promoted to be mediocre managers. Every program is under-funded, under-staffed, and over schedule. Bad managers are shuffled around but rarely fired.

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