senior area manager

data scientist

maintenance specialist

technician

software engineer

Bayer

I worked as a crop science contractor in the chesterfield location, mainly focusing on genetics. When I started my job there there was a very obvious gap between if you were a contract worker vs being a employee. This particular area also implemented a pod system, which literally made no since and meant you were working with the same exact group of 4 people everyday, and led to pods seeming to compete against each other and talk horribly about other coworkers who literally did the same thing as them. Since I was a contractor I also had 2 managers one being my pod manager, and the other my contracting manager (it was never clear who was above the other or who I was supposed to talk to). My pod manager for some reason was the same age as me, which is quite young and extremely unfriendly. In fact, the entire pod I entered into was very unfriendly and unperson-able. I felt like I was doing something wrong from the very first day and just could not relate to them at all. I attempted to make friends with other coworkers by helping them when we were done with our tasks, and also sitting with them at lunch. I quickly found out that everyone would talk bad about one another like I was in high school again. They all hated my pod, and told me how unfriendly they were, I couldn't disagree. This is when my contracting company started contacting me telling me all of these things my pod manager had problems with that I had done. I was extremely confused since I was not told or warned about these problems prior to me getting called, and even talked to at work by the contracting company I was under rather than my own managers. Other coworkers began saying that they were sorry that I had to work with my current manager, and that they were treating me unfairly. Keep in mind that I had literally only been there for 2 weeks working time. After only a month of working there I get called during the weekend saying that they didn't want to continue my contract. When I asked why she told me that my manager claimed that I was not keeping up to pace with my work, and that I missed meetings all the time. These are both absolutely ridiculous considering my training wasn't even finished, I wasn't even allowed to do things by myself, and I had only worked for 4 weeks. I missed a meeting the day before they let me go since I was helping out another pod, and because I was new I had no clue a meeting was even happening during that time since, due to holidays, we had not had one during those days. I had also rushed to the end of that meeting since I saw a message from one of my pod members asking where I was, they had not told me beforehand that they were going to a meeting in the first place. This was the only meeting I had missed out of the various meetings we had every week. my managers had not expressed anything was wrong that whole week, even when I stayed after to help other pods when my pods work was finished. So, if you are going in by contract in this particular sector please be aware that you will not be talked to by your superiors if they have a problem. Everyone else will know before you do, and you will be talked about by other coworkers and the managers. Also good luck trying to get hired, Bayer / Monsanto never hires contractors even though the majority of their workers are contracting employees. Be aware that you also have to be a certain type of person to fit in with your coworkers, if not your manager might just find untruthful reasons to get you fired, and your contracting company will have no way to defend you since they literally aren't there. I met one really good friend while I was there though!

While Bayer itself ***MAY BE***a good company to work for(although I doubt it from my experience), it is very difficult to penetrate the 'culture'they have there. Everyone is hired on through a temp agency and (SUPPOSEDLY)based on performance, attendance, etc, THEN you are offered permanent employment. This is a bold-face lie! If and when you are hired through the temp agency, and after you undergo their so-called training, you are then thrown into the lab(or wherever your area is your hired for)and expected to 'just get' or know how to do every aspect of the job. The employees that are already hired on by Bayer will look down on you, degrade you, and talk about you for the duration of your stay. Only when you work your tail off do they even talk to you or want to teach you anything and even then its only what you need to know and nothing more. They definitely have a 'cancel culture' going on as the permanent employees dont want to share info or knowledge or teach anyone anything for fear of being replaced. I have never worked for a more unwelcoming, hateful, and judgemental company or set of people in my life! You have to be there for YEARS to even be considered for a permanent job and when they do decide to hire it is very biased and if your not a brown noser then forget it. There is even a running joke around the plant that unless someone dies or your kin to someone you wont get a position with Bayer. I found this sentiment to be the very truth. While the pay isnt bad, the temp agency keeps almost $7/hr of YOUR pay. Its ridiculous. This company will do the most to make sure your hours are kept to a minimum, no overtime, and dont even think about benefits. Just get your tush here and work. Dont even get me started on management! They have their faves and everyone that has advanced up the ladder has 'paid their dues' and the it rolls all the way downhill. The only thing i can say was that they were always having dinners and events catered and food trucks brought in. They also gave away alot of cool stuff like shirts, mugs, speakers, etc however, if youre on the night shift forget that too because your either left out or dont get at all. I do want to say that the lady that runs the front may as well run the whole darn company. Shes a powerhouse of info, helps everyone, onboards everyone, ALL of it!!! If you needed something you didnt go to your supervisor, you went to her. She def deserves a raise for all that she puts up with. Basically, if your looking to advance your career this is NOT the place. If your looking for a go, work  get paid type of job, then this may  be for you. But only if you dont like human interaction and when you do have it its ALWAYS negative....then this may be for you. Good Luck.....

The job itself is good work. You can work 9am to 5pm and have a one hour lunch break and everybody at West Sacramento will do this. There's not a whole lot of micromanagement, for the most part you do your work on your own schedule and as long everything gets done timely you won't have any problems. There's nobody breathing down your neck and it feels pretty nice. The pay is good comparatively to other similar companies and there are plenty of meetings and company perks like swag, appreciation events etc. 

Management is very disorganized. There is no real leadership in West Sacramento. It's more like whoever yells the loudest gets first dibs but it's only the management who are listened to. If you are a Bachelors' degree RD Specialist compared to a  pHD Scientist then you pretty much have no voice. Treatment of the Bachelor's degree level people continues to deteriorate. And if you are Scientist level person then even then it doesn't mean that you get treated well. If you are a favorite of management - then you might be treated well. The rest are fighting for scraps and the Bachelor's people are more like second class citizens. They get paid well so they better not say anything and just get the work done. 

There is no support for any kind of problem. Be warned. If you report anything to HR - those people get a PIP, then admin leave and then they disappear. It's happened many times while I was there. Be wary if they do an investigation as well as almost everyone I've ever known who had an investigation never came back regardless of where the blame lay. Also be warned - that when going to HR - to avoid problems with conflicting stories always... always send complaints through the computer system and put everything in WRITING. I wish somebody had warned me about this. 


In terms of promotion from within - especially for the Bachelor's level people, they speak a lot of people development strategy but in reality its all lip service. The truth is that the company is just too big and there are too little spots for moving up. They also prefer to hire from outside the company when a promotion is available. It is a comfortable job, you just have to be satisfied with the status quo. If a person is talented - mostly they end up leaving to go upward in a different company. Because of this mindset - the company has a very high turnover rate.

My best understanding of the way bear works is you become what you make of it. Being driven to network and spread yourself out throughout the company is beneficial in promotions and advancements if you could do this without putting a damper on your job productivity that you were hired to do. My personal experience I had a person in my department that I didn't get to know until halfway through the duration of my contract that only cared about their self and when the work got low that they would be the one doing it regardless if they were qualified. this person was not my manager but have the ability to advise management of budgets and things that wasted their money in the budget Personnel recommendations of contractors and used all this know how to ensure their job last forever. This is a small example of what I meant when I say you become what you make of it it could be for yourself advancement in your skill or personal financial needs that drive you drive you to do things that aren't focused on your actual skills expertise yet in a way they were.
 I was left alone to do my job and people that walks by my office mostly said that I was always working and work hard as far as they knew I was doing my job very well and I'm a good worker. Hard worker and they would recommend me without knowing the details of my skills. Bayer Pharmaceuticals is a great place for networking socializing getting to know people it's wonderful It's a Wonderful environment. I could just see a new graduate student advancing very fast and becoming respectable in a short amount of time. Somebody who's sensible realistic attentive. persuasive and likable effective Communicator would be perfect after becoming a respectable professional and successful. As I learn about different companies this company makes me wish I completed a master's degree in college before I started my work career.

If you want to learn about innovative greenhouse operations and problem solve in a developing environment, this is a great location for you. I have already learned a great deal and expect to continue to grow throughout my employment here. As of writing this review, this is not a place to work if you want to show up and complete well-established tasks with limited mental effort. The site has transitioned from startup to operations very recently and the majority of my frustrations have come from the challenges this situation creates. I anticipate that will change as time goes on. 

Many of the bad reviews for this site are from contract workers, who are justly dissatisfied with their experiences. Having been both contracted and direct hire, they are two different worlds at this company. That being said, this site is on track to transition to majority direct hires and I would expect the ratio of bad:good reviews to shift accordingly. 

Bayer has excellent benefits and PTO options (for agricultural workers especially), even for people who are recent hires. I am personally getting 4x more PTO here than I did with my last employer. In my role I also have excellent flexibility on my working hours and I can WFH when it is appropriate. The workplace culture is actively inclusive and focused on the mental and physical wellbeing of it's staff. The frank discussion and commitment to safety is impressive.  

I do have one critical comment, there are elements in the middle management that show clique-behavior and there are certain managers that are not up to the task of management. Overall there is good culture, but if you are to work for certain people you may not have the best experience that Bayer should be offering. 

A typical day starts with review of my daily objectives,list of accounts to call on, focus on high potential account customers, review of clinical reprints and sales resources to support clinical claims; delivering service and resources to partner with key account personnel; providing clinical information regarding Xarelto and/or Adempas and identifying patients based on product approved indications who would benefit from treatment with promoted products and asking for the business for those identified patients; follow up to assure patient access to needed medications and check patient outcomes.

During each customer interaction, I learn what their concerns are or their experiences with my promoted products to date.  Any additional questions are addressed utilizing approved promotional resources.  

I've always found that management support is critical to success in the field.  Management or leadership provides the overall direction, but it is the local team of colleagues that need to work together to develop the territory plan with overall strategy and specific tactics, execute the plan as a cohesive team to move the sales process forward at each step.  Review and evaluate customer response to make adjustment to the plan as a team to help our customers and patients.

I find the most enjoyable part of my job is customer interaction, learning about them, earning their trust, and helping customers and their patients.  As the business grows and hear feedback about how patients are responding and addressing how other indicated patients can be helped/benefit from these products.

Morning meetings 8AM everyday.  This is to be up to date on the various things happening within the plant.  Occasional meetings outside of this.  Typically working most of the day on a given project or assignment on your own.  Collaboration does happen, but not often in my case.  Also, can be very tough to work with certain people in the plant.  Definitely workers who are unwilling to change, which is a problem when you are hired to "improve" things.  

What I learned:  
Lesson 1: Working with some people can be VERY CHALLENGING, patience is needed.  
Lesson 2: Be willing to adapt, my first mentor assigned left the company while I was there and my next mentor was very difficult to communicate with at times.  
Lesson 3: Choose a career you are passionate about.  For me, it wasn't pesticide manufacture or pharmaceuticals (Bayer's big money makes).  I realized that following your passion really is important (may not be easy, but worth it).

Management:  management was good overall, however, I was assigned a mentor for this role and had a very hard time connecting with him.  

Culture:  A bit uptight, traditional, felt very robotic on day-to-day basis.  (lots of rules in the BIG company).

Hardest part:  Day to day grind: (I'm not as disciplined as I should be).  This job requires discipline and an ability to work with all types of people.  For me the hardest part: being changed from an assignment that was incomplete.  I like to finish my work before I turn it in. 

Most Enjoyable part:  Being able to see the inner workings of a chemical plant up close.  This is some REAL INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY.  So if that's what you're into, you'd find it interesting.

I was entry level on 3rd shift. Pay was only $15.25 per hour when I was hired. There was an in-house temporary service that did all the interviewing and the hiring. After 90 days, I was eligible for benefits through the temp agency, and I got the benefits, but they were pricey. I did not call off any days or report to work late on any day that I was scheduled. I was misled into believing that I would be hired by the parent company Bayer after having perfect attendance, being among the tops in productivity, and having the proper attitude for achieving the companies goals. I was finally approached by Bayer management over 5 months of service. By that time, I had made my decision to leave the company. If the Bayer managers had acted faster to have me hired by Bayer, I probably would have staying in their employment. I left the company after working 5.5 months. There were some great workers there who I enjoyed working side by side with. But Bayer needs to do more to permanently hire those new workers who work for less than 90 days and show that they can do the work. I have zero tolerance for companies that conduct themselves in this manner. In today's new work world, one does not need to put up with companies that do not recognize what workers do while working for their company.  One important fact that you may consider important is that the starting pay for 3rd shift (midnight shift) increased to $18 for new hires. I was told this by employees who I had stayed in touch with after I quit there. They said that the Bayer had meetings with the employees and agreed to increase the pay across the board for all employees, not just new hires.

It depends where you work in this company. At Bayer Crop Science, it is a lot of grunt work-- sorting, cleaning, planting, collecting data, collecting insect eggs, lifting, walking and work outdoors. Don't ask for a raise because you won't get one and you'll feel undervalued. New hires often make almost the same as long term employees because they're contracted instead of being Bayer employees. This can be frustrating. Bayer has a good retirement plan and they match 5%. They offer medical benefits only to their full time employees; not to employees that may work full-time, but aren't classified as full-time. Often, management doesn't really know what's involved in an employees daily tasks. This is probably true for most managers. If a manager wants to better understand his or her staff, he or she should work beside them now and then. I suppose that's not what management is all about. When the company was "Monsanto" they matched 7% for retirement. Other than not providing raises in pay, it's a good atmosphere in which to work, but one really has to enjoy busy work and sometimes hard work. 

Maybe in pharma or consumer science DSO is good and people are getting more done. But in Crop Science- where MONSANTO was running a true network leadership structure. Sure, there were leaders in place and ladders to climb, but anyone who wanted to get something done- especially in the name of "the customer"- it was always welcomed! 

Then Bayer tried to apply staunch European Heirarchy to American agriculture and- shocker- we're loosing money. 

Now we're in DSO and there's no leaders and no one accountable and no one cares about the Customer and the customers are telling us that- and were too bogged down with trying to figure out how to exist to respond to customers....

The benefits are average, but nothing to get excited about. Management is pretty uninclusive of remote workers and is doing NOTHING to address that- no training for how to run dual format meetings, no acknowledgment there might be call-ins, and management that is always surprised when they meet someone who doesn't "sit in Creve Couer". There are tons and tons and tons of resources that every employee has access to- but if you don't do it yourself, or have a manager that values/prioritizes time & training for it- you'll never even know it exists. Pay is good- maybe even on the high side of average. BUT there is little to NO ability fo earning more pay in-roll. Bonuses are small and management always brow beats everyone as they begrudgingly hand them out. Unless you are in sales- there is no "budget" for anything. 

Am I leaving? Probably not. Am I happy here? No. Do I recommend it? For growth-focused professional yes, for a committed-to-role type professional, nope. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Senior area manager 144 salaries reported	$252,500 per year
Data scientist 7 salaries reported	$141,000 per year
Maintenance specialist 81 salaries reported	$121,000 per year
Technician 3 salaries reported	$31.19 per hour
Software engineer 3 salaries reported	$143,333 per year

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