researcher

administrative assistant

data scientist

project manager

model

ORAU

Work-life balance
pretty standard for companies in town

Pay & benefits
The salary is lower than what other contractors offer for most jobs. The company touts the benefits as being better than others but they are about average with other employers.

Job security and advancement
If you aren't in the inner circles you won't be promoted. Some of the "executives" have diploma mill degrees and minimal management skills. The company is fairly devoid of leadership and will never be the organization it can be.

Management
One of the CEO's advisors is someone he met at a youth soccer game who would ride her exercise bike during virtual meetings. CEO and senior execs are in way over their heads. Very little innovative thinking, and reorg efforts have been  poorly done. Huge degree of favoritism causes low morale and limited promotion potential. Good people are cast aside by myopic and mentally deficient managers. The org is full of business cliche users who attempt to hide their ignorance behind overused business jargon. Narcissism reigns.

Culture
Behind the glossy facade lies a very toxic culture. Some people were relieved to be riffed instead of staying there, even during the pandemic. Salaries and benefits are just good enough to make people reluctant to leave.

Overall
ORAU is too dependent on one large customer, yet lacks the innovation or strategic bearing to diversify. The organization has based change strategy on outlandish and unobtainable financial goals. Survival of pandemic conditions is questionable under the current leadership, from the board of directors down to junior execs. Execs, especially junior execs, lack the experience or skill to hold their current positions, and are largely in place because of relationship building with more senior execs. Efforts to boost morale before the pandemic lacked sincerity which has worsened employee outlook now. Employees have little trust in leadership. Contractors should be lined up to compete with them for the next ORISE contract, if ORAU even exists then.

My typical work week involved planning experiments, reviewing the safety hazards, performing the work, gathering results, analyzing data, and presenting work.
I learned that there are some great opportunities at the national lab but if your supervisor is not interested in your work then you are left to flounder with out mentoring.
The management system failed during my experience. My mentor changed groups. My supervisor had prior knowledge my mentor was leaving the group. When my mentor changed groups I fell to the responsibility of my supervisor, who was not interested in my project. My supervisor did not take action to fill the vacancy of my mentor's position for over a year of the time I was there. 
My co-workers were each focused on their own projects. Some were quite professional and did not like to mix work and social life. That is respectable. Other co-workers were extremely cut throat individuals looking to secure a permanent position and viewed me as a threat.
The hardest part of my job was getting information from my supervisor about what I needed to be doing. 
The most enjoyable part of my job was getting to do wet chemistry work in the laboratory. It is something I enjoy greatly. It was exciting to use radionuclides.

Your experience hinges around who your "mentor" (boss) is, and you don't get to meet them before accepting the job offer. I got lucky-- my mentor is an amazing person and I've had a wonderful time. But I've seen my fellow contractors have the opposite experience.

ORAU will not be able to tell you what the job will look like when you ask during the hiring process, because ORAU truthfully has absolutely zero clue what any of their contractors actually do. Advertised job descriptions more often than not don't actually relate to what you will really be doing. Again, in my case, I got lucky, and it was perfect for me, but I have known others who were completely blindsided.

An ORAU contract position can lead to a government job if you are lucky. And I do stress luck, because although I myself was chosen to be hired by my superiors, the HR process in a lot of government agencies is so slow and mismanaged that I will likely not be able to start due to the upcoming hiring freeze with the new administration, despite having had my application accepted almost 6 months ago. So despite technically being "hired", I'm now out looking for another job. Anyway, all things to keep in mind...

A typical day at work consisted of me writing tests to measure filesystem throughput using different settings. I would study the programming languages I would use, and learn about how to accomplish my objectives with the software at hand.

I learned a lot about working in a professional setting, and contemporary problems and their current solutions at the laboratory. 

Management was excellent; they gave me guidance and help when I needed it and left me room to grow.

My co-workers provided good company while not being distracting.

The hardest part of my job was understanding all of the technical information about the filesystem and also conceptualizing why the data looked they way it did.

The most satisfying part of my job was seeing the code play out was planned and get me good information about the system.

Fantastic program. I typically spend most of my time in the laboratory but also a lot of time in front of a computer analyzing data. Probably most of what I learned is more in-depth critical thinking in astrochemistry laboratories as well as inventive ways to track down and fix equipment problems. ORAU manages the NPP program well here at Ames and other locations. My coworkers are great and we occasionally engage in social activities to maintain good relationships outside of work. The hardest part of the job is writing up publications and proposals, but the privilege of working with some of the top people in my field makes it worthwhile. I look forward to going to the lab everyday.

Great benefits and many good people ORAU, but it also has a typical government contractor feel in many ways. The new Executive leadership is having surprising success pushing innovation in the culture, so change is happening. If you're someone who loves great benefits and security and doesn't mind a little cultural innovation coming down the pipe, this is the place for you. If you're already an innovator who doesn't mind stagnating a bit while the culture changes, this is the place for you. If you're on the cutting edge, you might want to hit up Spacex instead.

Simultaneously worked two positions for 10 years. Worked as a print production assistant and maintained the conference center. Both positions required 100% attention, lots of extended hours evenings and weekends. Ran and maintained a digital press and high speed production printers. Coordinated events and maintained contracts. Worked closely with custodial staff to schedule clean up after events.

Unhealthy atmosphere, a good ole' boys network, old ideas about managing, lots of gossip, everyone is on facebook all day instead of doing their work which makes more work for others. Disappointing. Would like to really accomplish something and not just play games all day. Could probably work regular hours if some people would put their phones down or get off facebook. Heads are turned to ignore discrimination.

If you are the above three categories they will pay you less and work you more than white and healthy workers. If you are African American and a manager with 20 years experience they will pay you 85% of what they would a white person under 40 with half the experience. And if you are Asian they will terminate you if you get sick and need less than a year to fully recover.

The company has adopted an Employee Empowerment model of operation that enables employees to feel engaged and be part of the success of their section, department, etc.  The company also supports an incredible mission of furthering STEM in education and the workplace, as well as reacting to National Disasters and performing epidemiological studies.  

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Researcher 14 salaries reported	$32.30 per hour
Administrative assistant 2 salaries reported	$23.36 per hour
Data scientist 2 salaries reported	$32.01 per hour
Project manager 2 salaries reported	$108,109 per year
Model 2 salaries reported	$34.90 per hour

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