Long on cons with one or two pros - Anonymous employee BAE Systems Employee Review

1.0
Jun 30, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Zero stress. Super relaxed working environment. Nobody works more than 40 hours a week and nobody checks email during off hours. EMEA gets a ridiculous amount of vacation time, which on one hand seems unfair to Americas employees, but the flipside is that nothing happens whatsoever for all of August and December so it's like a working vacation for Americans. Overall a great place to work if you're not ambitious or just want to take a career break for a while.

Cons

An absurd amount of bureaucracy. It's impossible to get anything done. This is a defense contractor, so if you're used to working for a commercial organization get ready to be shocked. If you're coming from a startup you wonder if you stepped into a vortex to an alternate universe. Corporate communications are atrocious and the board is disengaged and aloof. Culture is a mess. They bought two commercial software startups that were high growth market leaders and managed to run both businesses into the ground and drive away all of the talent they acquired. Every A player from Norkom and SilverSky from the execs to the rank and file is now gone. Most of the B talent has left as well. A lot of the A talent from Detica remains to this day, so it seems that Ai is destined to be a prestigious, low margin, steady growth consultancy. Which is actually fine if that's what they want to be, it just makes no sense whatsoever to try to incubate software companies in that environment.

Explore other reviews about BAE Systems

5.0
Apr 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
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Pros

There is a lot of opportunities for promotion if you stay the course and stand out a strong candidate.

Cons

Depending on the program you are working for, the work load can be overwhelming at times.

5.0
Mar 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great work environment, coworkers are down-to-earth and always willing to help. Comfortable workload and great communication among colleagues.

Cons

Documentation process is a little outdated and disorganized, method of communication between departments could be better structured, the real training you are able to get is wholly dependent on your coworkers understanding of the current process. Nothing detrimental enough to lower my rating, but could be improved overall.

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