scientist

laboratory technician

customer service technician

entry level laboratory technician

courier

Pace Analytical Services LLC

I know this review is a little long, but I feel it is important to share my experience, so I encourage people to read all the way through to the end.  I was hired in May for a position where I was contracted through Pace to work for Solventum. 
 The position was advertised as a Lab Analyst position with the main job tasks being calibrating lab equipment and other general maintenance for the labs.  I only ended up working there for three months before being let go.  When I asked why I was being fired they said there was a disconnect between what I was looking to do and what they wanted for the position, and also claimed I behaved unprofessionally, continued to use my cell phone during work hours after being told not to, and ordered an expensive piece of equipment without going through the proper channels.
     In regards to them saying there was a disconnect between what I was looking for and what they wanted, I told them in my interview that I wanted to eventually become a research assistant, and specifically asked them if I would have the chance to gain experience doing research in this position.  In response I was told I would likely have the opportunity to assist with a few experiments here and there, which is the only reason I accepted the position.  Only after I was hired was it revealed to me that the position was brand new, and they weren't sure what my exact responsibilities would be.  As time went on, I was pushed further and further into a stockroom clerk roll, and when I expressed concern about this I was told it would be at least a year before I could start assisting with research tasks, which I said was alright.  That said, they knew exactly what I was looking for when they hired me, and I told them I was ok with the fact that it wouldn't happen right away, so giving this as a reason to fire me didn't make sense.
     As for them saying I behaved unprofessionally, when I asked them to elaborate on this, they said they were talking about how I had taken naps in the public break area during my breaks, and how I had worn a sweater with a hood to work.  While it's true these things did occur, they happened during my first two weeks of employment, and had already been addressed at my two week check in meeting.  In said meeting, my manager specifically told me I wasn't in trouble for doing these things since she understood this was my first professional position, and that she was simply making me aware of the fact that I shouldn't do so moving forward.  I never did those things again after that two week check in meeting, so if I truly wasn't in trouble for it as my manager claimed, it shouldn't have been used as a reason for firing me two and a half months later.
     The two week check in meeting was also when I was told not to answer text messages at my desk anymore, which I didn't.  The reason they saw me using my phone after I was warned about it was that when they moved me into more of a stockroom clerk position, they started having me work with one of the stockroom managers, and that manager asked me to use my phone to take pictures of things for her and make notes about things that needed to get done.  None of the other managers or supervisors ever questioned me about it, so I was under the impression that they had already been told about what I was doing.  The fact that the stockroom manager never told anyone they had asked me to use my phone for work purposes, and the fact that no one bothered to ask me about it, shows a complete lack of communication between the various managers and their staff.
     As for their claim that I ordered an expensive piece of equipment without going through the proper channels, this was entirely false.  The equipment in question was a small, $200, lockable filing cabinet that I ordered so I would have a secure place to store an expensive piece of equipment I had at my desk.  I had been taught to submit order requests for lab equipment by filling out an online order form, which would then be reviewed by one of the people who handled order requests and approved or denied based on whether or not they thought the request was valid.  This was the same form I used to request the filing cabinet.  On the form, I listed our shared office space as the room I was ordering the cabinet for, and in my explanation of why I was ordering it I put "I have some equipment at my desk I need to keep secure." so the person who reviewed my order request was well aware of the fact that I was ordering the cabinet to be used at my office desk, and they approved the order.  When the desk arrived, my supervisor told me he wasn't sure that I could have it at my desk, and when his manager told him to have me move it to a public work area I did so immediately.  He then asked to meet with me about it briefly, and in this meeting he told me I was not in any trouble, and that his manager just wanted him to find out exactly what I had said in my request and who had approved the order.  That said, for them to say I ordered it without going through the proper channels was an outright lie, and it was not right for them to hold me responsible for the fact that someone else approved my order when they evidently shouldn't have, especially after telling me I wasn't in any trouble for it.
     In addition to the fact that all their reasons for firing me were invalid, I faced several other problems while working for them: They frequently changed their minds about what they wanted me to do, when I asked which tasks they wanted me to prioritize I was given conflicting answers from my supervisor and manager, and they didn’t tell most of the researchers about my position despite the fact that they only wanted me to do maintenance for a researchers lab if that researcher had requested my services.  Also, I was told that I would have a performance review after my first three months where we would discuss how I was doing and if I needed to improve on anything, yet when I was fired they started out by saying "After reviewing your performance over the past three months we've decided not to continue your employment."  At no point was I ever told that the first three months of my employment was a probationary period, and I was told I would have a preformance review after three months, not that after three months they would be deciding whether or not to continue my employment, so I found what they did very deceptive, and felt it was unfair of them to dismiss me without giving me an opportunity to work on their perceived issues with me.
     Overall, my experience working for Pace was extremely negative.  When I was hired  the hiring managers lied to me about what I would get to do in my position, and failed to make me aware of the fact that the position I was interviewing for was brand new.  My supervisor and manager lied to me by telling me I wasn't in trouble for things that were later used as reasons to fire me, and they failed to clearly communicate my job responsibilities to me.  While my co-workers were nice, many of them felt overworked, underpaid, and/or underaprecciated.  To be fair I don't know if these issues stemmed from Pace or from Solventum, but either way, it was not ok.

Pace bought out Trimatrix to get a start in Michigan. Trimatrix had problems, but Pace stepped in and somehow made it worse. The biggest change was that it became us versus management, who seemed clueless despite tendencies to micromanage. Four people were fired last year, including one during a busy period, when we needed all the help we could get. People were not brought in to replace them, making for an atmosphere of "who's next?". We were treated as if we didn't know how to do our jobs and thus needed babysitters and checklists. 

Seriously busy times meant 50-60 hour weeks, and even then we could not keep up with the workload. Repeated requests for extra help were ignored until we were neck-deep in catastrophe, although cost savings of overtime would have decreased if people had been hired when requested. Concerns and requests stemming from them, such temporarily telling clients we couldn't take samples, were often dismissed as being evidence of a can't-do, won't-try attitude rather than the result of a mature thought process and thus something worth acting on.

In slow times, there was nothing to do, and one person could handle the workload. I expected a more steady workload from a larger company. Furlough options would have been nice.

We were given the impossible task of doing everything quickly while taking the exact time needed to do it according to EPA regulations.
A huge issue was that Pace did not invest in upgraded equipment that would have staved off many problems. The organic extraction lab, in particular, was doing everything by hand, and as a result, missed several deadlines in a busy period, losing customers in the process. It got only a little automation in the form of shaker boxes because Pace bought a lab in Kalamazoo. Some shakers were bought later but could not save time due to increased per-sample processing time. Outdated equipment makes it difficult to find work at other places because we never developed the necessary skills at Pace.

Most equipment was bought used because it was cheaper, but it had more problems and thus costs than simply buying new equipment. We got a new LIMS to match the rest of the network, but it didn't save us a lot of time. I don't understand how the company had the thousands to do that but not thousands to invest in the equipment that would save a bunch of overtime. Had it invested in equipment first, the savings from the overtime would have easily paid for the new LIMS. A company-wide equipment exchange site would be helpful rather than sitting and wishing for Minneapolis to do something.

We had many hour-long meetings during busy times, often to discuss why we weren't getting anything done, putting us even farther behind.
College degrees are not necessary in most labs; high school dropouts could do everything except VOCs and SVOCs. Appropriate, since the pay is dropout-level as well. I was not even making $16 an hour when I left, and people brought on after me with equivalent or less experience had higher titles and pay.

There was nearly no cross-training between labs, which bit us when only one lab got hectic. I think a few people wanted to learn GC/MS but never got the opportunity to do so. There was not always time to properly train people, so newbies were often thrown right into the crucible even if IDCs weren't complete.

Kaizen events felt like corporate patting itself on the back while doing nothing to improve the core of our duties. In fact, it made certain things worse. Fire the team and focus on equipment upgrades.

The workplace was literally toxic; depending on lab space, you'd be inhaling heavy metals or organochlorine molecules. As said above, Pace did not upgrade ventilation or effective safety measures, contenting itself with taking razor blades out of the lab and other such small potatoes. OSHA limits were regularly exceeded; EPA limits likely were as well, considering we just vented waste into the air. We recycled only cardboard; every time I threw plastic and glass into the Dumpster, I felt like a hypocrite. We went through reams of paper, even with the new LIMS that was supposed to be paper-free.

The news that the lab was going to be largely shut down by the end of 2018 came as welcome news in my area. I never left an employer with so few regrets. Pace might have been able to make a go of it in MI had it kept its buyout promises, but it has followed its habit of chewing up its workers and spitting them out. I'm wondering if Pace ever intended to keep its promises, or if it was after only our client list. It let Trimatrix drop big-time. Had I known I would end up at Pace, I don't think I would have gone to college.

If you're an environmental lab looking to sell to a network, don't choose Pace. It embodies a lot of the bad parts of US-based companies and makes a not-great industry even more taxing.

I've been putting off writing this review for years because I couldn't find the right words to describe how awful my experience at Pace Huntersville was. At this point, I’ll just share what happened, as it gives a clear picture of my department.

I was hired as a project coordinator from a different department at Pace. I had a strong relationship with PM management and was told there was a clear plan for my role, working with two specific PMs. Unfortunately, that plan didn’t exist. I started with no training, no specific tasks, and no guidance. I was told I was now everyone’s PC, but despite asking frequently, no one had the bandwidth to train me, leaving me in the difficult position of having no work to do but the expectation that I would nonetheless be working. 

After some time, my manager taught me how to run reports for PMs, but this turned out to be very redundant work, as the PMs were already doing it themselves. Still, it was better than nothing. But, running these reports became irritating for my coworkers, who saw it as micromanagement. They were very nice about it, but it still put a strain on some working relationships. 

Then, the PC handling our largest client left, and I was asked to take over. I attempted to negotiate, saying that I would not consider such a large responsibility and liability without both vigorous training and at least a small amount of additional compensation. I was told by management that they would look into this. There was no follow up, and I then found out that the role was given to someone else. This person got the pay raise, and while I understand why this more experienced person was a great choice, the way management handled it with me was frustrating and unprofessional.

Soon after, management's attitude toward me shifted. I'd noticed that management tended to pick certain employees to antagonize, gossip about with unwilling subordinates, and eventually demote or push out, and feared that I was the next target. 

I also frequently was getting sick, as were others in the building. I was required by management to get expensive doctor’s notes to take sick days, while my coworkers were not, even when we took a similar number of sick days. 

I eventually got my own smaller client, but I wasn’t set up properly in the system for weeks, which made finishing projects impossible. I relied on my coworkers for help, and was a steep learning curve to tackle in this way, but eventually I managed. 

As if things weren’t bad enough, a new PM was supposed to cover for a senior PM going on leave, but the new PM, due to a similar lack of training, wasn’t ready in time. I was then told to cover for the senior PM while training the new PM, despite receiving minimal training myself. It should have been clear from the start that it was a disastrous idea, but I had no choice but go ahead with management's plan. 

I was again promised training, and again, it never materialized. The senior PM, and the entire managerial team went out of office at the same time, and I was left with multiple large projects, a PM to train, and no guidance. I received a client inquiry every 2-3 minutes, and about tasks I had never been told existed, let alone been trained on. Every task took me 15-30 minutes to learn, and by then, a dozen more inquiries had piled on. The stress started taking a physical toll on me, causing severe acute health issues. Though I wanted to wait for management to be back in office to submit my notice, the health issues I finally pushed me to my breaking point, and I submitted my resignation early directly to HR. 

When management returned, the retaliation floored me. Though the work that I did was admittedly not ideal, I did absolutely everything in my power with the little support I had, working copious amounts of overtime every night. I was still reprimanded for not doing enough work.

I stayed until 5 AM trying to catch up in an attempt to avoid additional retaliation, but it only got worse. My manager escalated things, sending emails to higher-ups, blaming me for more issues that were never my responsibility. It seemed like a clear attempt to ruin any chance I had of getting a good reference down the line. They even tried isolating me from former coworkers/friends, embarrassing me in front of them and telling them not to contact me again.

Finally, I involved HR, and was eventually told that my manager would not be allowed to speak to me for the rest of my time there. 

The silver lining is that this job taught me valuable lessons about red flags in future job searches and setting professional boundaries. I moved on to a different career field and I’ve been much healthier and happier since leaving Pace. I do not shy away from calling this experience legitimately traumatic. Though I’ll always appreciate the friends I made there, I wouldn’t wish the same experience on anyone.

A typical day at work:
A typical day involved prepping and testing samples, organizing data, and maintaining a fast-paced, detail-oriented workflow. The work itself was interesting and engaging, especially for someone with a background in science.

What you believe you learned:
I gained hands-on experience with sample preparation and lab testing protocols, improved my time management skills, and learned how to work efficiently under pressure.

Management:
Unfortunately, I found management to be disappointing. Decisions often seemed driven more by nepotism and personal connections than by merit or qualifications. I witnessed several educated and skilled employees being let go and replaced by underqualified individuals connected to current staff, likely as a cost-saving measure. 70% of the employees there are hired because a family member works there.

Workplace culture:
The culture was mixed. While I did meet some genuinely kind and hardworking colleagues, there was also a lack of transparency and fairness that created a frustrating and demoralizing environment.

The hardest part of the job:
The most difficult part was seeing how little the company valued its trained and experienced workers. The workload and hazardous conditions did not match the low pay.

The most enjoyable part of the job:
I truly loved the actual work—being in the lab, prepping and testing samples, and applying my scientific knowledge. That part was both fun and fulfilling.

The workers at the Columbia facility are useless and never answer the phone. Clients would call the Greenville office complaining that they haven't received their results several months later. The Greenville office is staffed with the most hateful people you'll ever meet. They have no problem telling you what you're doing wrong but then turn around and do the same exact thing. The manager thinks that she can talk to people anyway she wants because she feels her life has been and is always way harder than everyone else's. No one in the office tried to support or help you succeed. They're only there to complain about their issues and if you are even slightly positive, they'll mock you. If you try to speak up for yourself and make it known that you want to move up or forward in life, they'll do everything in their power to undermine you. If you don't agree with them 100% about everything, then get ready to be their scapegoat. You'll be berated if you try asking for a raise. If you try to help anyone else in the office with their work, they'll immediately get irritated and try to sabotage you. Upper management never checks in on the Greenville office, so don't try to reach out asking for their help. They'll just "take notes" of what you said but then spin it to make it sound worse than you meant. HR is a joke and like we saw at the Coldplay concert, cannot be trusted. Don't even think about using PTO. How dare you make their lives harder for you to take some time off to rest and reset yourself. If you have no ambition, love to be complacent, are a miserable person, and unmotivated then they'll happily accept you into their group of misery. If you have bigger plans for your life and want the best for yourself, then look elsewhere. These people will only bring you down and keep you from achieving your goals. 

Teammates in shipping/receiving were thoughtful, friendly, and hard-working. I found the work interesting and would have stayed if not for micromanaging, excessive and unpredictable overtime, and zero opportunities for upward mobility.

Management lacked logistics expertise and treated shipping/receiving as an afterthought compared to the labs, despite the fact that our success or failure directly affected every department in the building. 

Management insisted on same-day processing of all samples, regardless of objective urgency, and had no way of predicting how many samples would be received on a given day. Clients were allowed to place orders for immediate processing regardless of how many projects we already had. Clients would also drop off samples up to the last few minutes of closing (or after we had closed), and management would expect us to process those samples immediately. The unpredictable workload combined with an inability to retain experienced staff led to long hours, with no tangible support from management.

After weeks of working overtime in order to keep up with a moderate workflow, we would be told to get ready to work more overtime when the busy season actually started. We were told that this was "the nature of the business."

Pay was underwhelming compared to similar jobs at neighboring companies. And though the team relied heavily on a few experienced staff for training and day-to-day leadership, there was no room for upward mobility without leaving the department. Or, in my case, the company. Cheers.

The pay is low for new people and a lot of people quit (like 7 including myself) to work for competitors or find other employment.  There is currently a staffing shortage due to high volumes of work from clients and majority of people are just there for a paycheck.  You work there to do a robots job no thinking involved but it is very meticulous paper documenting.  I recommend anyone who works there use it for experience as they will over work you like crazy (once fully trained) with all the services they provide to their clients and then leave and go else where to get a better job/promotion.  Pace doesn't make a product it provides a service ie R&D company pays pace to test their products.  It was on company email open forum questions to all that an associate scientists II can go to a competitor and make $10k more than a senior scientists at pace.  I heard before the pandemic pace did not promote anyone for 3 - 4 yrs and now they have just promoted a lot of people.  The benefits are ok med/den is okay but 401k is 2% if you match 6% (horrible).  Alot of people with time in the company are salary I found out.  My department has a number of young people like 18-25 yrs old and are treated like kids so act they like kids.  Best of luck to whoever reads and hope this helps you in your decision.

Typically you work 40 - 55 hrs a week, with especially long-hours required during rush seasons (before the holidays and summer). Lots of learning on the job in how to run tests and operate expensive analytical instruments. Management varies greatly. I had an excellent supervisor, but my lab manager was more distant, although she meant well. Higher ups are of course out of touch with everyday workers, though that was getting better right before I left with regular monthly meetings.

Turnover rate is extremely high -- I saw several people come and go even though I myself was there less than a year. This is probably because upward mobility in this company is abysmal. Employees constantly complain about their job, even though the compensation and benefits are not terrible for the area. Could use more holidays, though. 

Hardest part of the job was using the several different software platforms and janky databases from the 1900s to retrieve important information. There were at least 5 different programs you need to use constantly throughout the day, all with different interfaces and learning curves.

Best part of the job was interacting with coworkers. Most of them are decent folk, and we all generally got along in my particular lab. Lab work is also fairly repetitive, and you can listen to music/podcasts/etc. while you work, which was nice. 

I rose through the ranks from a routine testing chemist to a senior member of the method development and validation team. I've seen many people come and go during my 8 years with the company, and the company itself is not the same as the one I first joined. Management has made strong improvements to retain and promote employees, and gives them more opportunities to develop their skills rather than feeling stuck in their current jobs. In addition, the company will reward you for initiative. You can seek and search out opportunities within the company to build your skill set and experience, which I believe contributed to my success there. On the other hand, the company is a contract lab, and generating revenue will always be the top interest. You need to set your own limits on workdays and hours, or it can eat you alive. Especially if you have family depending on you, you must limit your hours, because no one else will do it for you. The best part of PACE is the people. There is very little of the ego present in the operation that is sometime present in a PhD-heavy operation, and I greatly enjoyed teaching and sharing my experience with chemists just out of college. Every day was something different, which I enjoyed, but might not be a fit for everyone. If you like a challenge, are self-driven, and need variety, this is a good place to work. The management is very ethical, from my experience.

Pace is one of the most disorganized companies I have worked for.  Their milestone program is a joke to say the least. Every new employee is put on this program when you start and for every milestone you complete you get $.50 and no yearly raise for the first two years. Every job title has a different amount of milestones you are able to achieve over the span of two years. You could ask management about what the milestones are but they won't give it to you so you won't know what to work towards. This becomes more like you learn your job in hopes you are going to complete your milestones every 6 months. Management believes they are great at communication on what is going on but it's really just a one way street conversation with them. Every location is different with workload. The main lab in Tennessee is where most of samples are analyzed for tests which makes it incredibly busy and very heavy workloads or uou work in a small specilized lab for testing not done in Tennessee with less work but at times can get a little crazy or a remote location across the United States that sends all the samples to a Pace lab. Training is not standard across the all locations and varies based on local management.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Scientist 52 salaries reported	$19.30 per hour
Laboratory technician 45 salaries reported	$17.02 per hour
Customer service technician 32 salaries reported	$16.50 per hour
Entry level laboratory technician 30 salaries reported	$17.28 per hour
Courier 17 salaries reported	$15.82 per hour

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