researcher

postdoctoral research associate

scientist

registered nurse

postdoctoral fellow

St. Jude Childrens Research Hospital

I was an intern for ALSAC St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital Mid - Atlantic region located in Arlington, VA. ALSAC is the fundraising arm for the main Hospital in Memphis, TN. The Mid - Atlantic region is just one of many regions of ALSAC across the country. While interning at the office of the Mid - Atlantic region, I helped organize events and galas that were held in order to help raise money for the Children's Hospital. I attended two, one at the end of February of 2013 which was held in Washington, D.C.  and the other in May of 2013 which was held at the Trump National Golf Club in Potomac Falls, VA. My work varied from putting together excel spreadsheets, power points, Adobe photoshop projects and helping to put together the weekly newsletter for the parents of patients who were from the Mid - Atlantic region.  I also attended various exhibitions in the Washington, D.C. area in order to promote different fundraising activities for the Hospital, such as sponsoring a Hospital Patient in the 2013 Memphis Marathon. Though working to prepare for the various events was a difficult task, it gave me great pleasure on the night of the events, as I knew that no matter how small my contribution was, I still played a role in helping everything run smoothly. Interning at ALSAC was an enriching experience because it was my first step into the real world. At the end of each day, I felt happy that I had been given an opportunity, though indirectly, to help the various patients of the Hospital through my manny small but substantial contributions to the ALSAC team. My co - workers were so friendly and treated me and others with great respect. Their sense of enthusiasm, their passion for their work and their drive to be the voice of the parents who could not afford enough money to give their child the care he or she needed,  and give them hope and reassurance that their child was in good hands with the doctors at St. Jude Children's Hospital was genuine. I truly had a wonderful experience interning for ALSAC as it has shown me the importance of teamwork, dedication and loyalty I was very fortunate to have a chance to experience this great opportunity, as it is something I am very grateful for.

What is the best part of working at the company?
There are brilliant, caring, and dedicated medical staff, researchers, teachers, environmental services staff at St. Jude. That part of the job is the reason it gets even 2 stars.  The benefits are very good as well. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Leadership is an uncaring, disconnected train wreck, doing lip service to the mission while engaging in self-aggrandizement and self-promotion. Nepotism abounds. Very real concerns, in my case for safety of patients and staff during the beginning and height of the pandemic,  were brushed off in an astonishing way.  Non essential video and photography crew were sent into patient areas to make “unsung heroes” videos. Alternatives were suggested and not even responded to. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It is not the culture I expected. There are wonderful people working here, but in my position I interacted with nearly every department, and across the board the feeling is that the culture is faltering and far from what it was a couple of decades ago (this from people who have been here for at least that many years).  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Overseeing MANY projects at a time (and at a point given managerial responsibilities of which I am capable, but for which I was not hired or compensated - asking for said compensation and being told I was “not managing” while our department head had been fired several months prior and I had taken over), underpaid, disregarded in my field of expertise (video production and post production - I’ve worked in television and corporate video for 20 years) to the detriment of our projects, some of which were tools for patients and parent education which were greatly compromised or never finished due to upper management.

I took a mid- high-level clinical research position at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital, and was happy to be a permanent employee instead of a contractor like at my previous position. 
The St. Jude job title for the position I accepted was odd, and I knew right away that it didn't match the degree requirements or job description. My gut feeling was telling me that this was wrong, but I tried to put it aside and not think about it, because I was afraid of coming across as shallow. They didn't seem to care about the mismatch either, because they think they are so awesome and everybody wants to work there, that you should just be thankful to work there at all regardless of your job title. The work I did in that role was extra strenuous, and more prestigious and higher level compared to most standard clinical research jobs. However, when I needed to find another job, prospective employers blacklisted me because of my St. Jude job title. Come to find out, they didn't care at all about the neat job duties that I got to do, because they couldn't prove it anyway and just thought I was embellishing my resume. The ONLY thing future employers look at is your job title. It took me years for another company to just give me a chance, but they hired me at a somewhat demeaning demotion and drastic painful pay cut that put my family in an awkward position and change of life style. When I started working at my new job, my new manager alluded to me in conversation that the lower level job I got there was because of the St. Jude job title. I really got screwed over. Lessons learned - Always go with your initial gut feeling; and even if job titles do not matter to you, they matter later for your livelihood and to future employers.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Hearing stories from families with children that have cancer and their  positive experiences at St Jude Children’s Research Hospital.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Although being a part of the Hero program has little stress, the 18 week training leading up to each Marathon often takes time away from other daily activities. 535 miles with some days having 20 miles each is rewarding and well worth the effort. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Support from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital staff is world 🌍 class and more rewarding than I could imagine being with any other organization.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Knowing that only 20% of all contacts each day will prove successful, making at least 10 calls per day, 5 days a week helps maintain 👀 a growing list of potential opportunities. Asking for donations from friends, family & neighbors is easy knowing donations provide family members the knowledge that they will never see a bill 💵 from St Jude Children’s Research Hospital staff. I’ve been reminded that being known for being the guy that so often asks for donations is not such a bad thing to be know for.

Working in the psychology department was mostly a great experience! The managers made efforts to be supportive at every turn. I had some awesome, helpful, and collaborative coworkers. The work was quite fulfilling and the patients were the sweetest!  On the one hand, it’s great that people stay at SJ for so long, but on the other, some people become comfortable after being there for 10+ years and feel like they can behave however they want in the workplace without consequences. Don’t be surprised to encounter perfectionistic, controlling, and problematic individuals who have positioned themselves in leadership roles on research teams.

Ask questions during the interview phase about how your position came to be open, and try to decipher if you’re being given the full story. If you notice high turnover in a particular role, it could be due to the person or people you’d be working closely with. If possible, probe this with others on the team you’d be working on. 

A + for marketing itself as a world renowned cancer center for children that is compassionate and caring. 

C - For actually carrying out its patient focused mission. With an exception of a few  physicians, most leave  too much patient care and contact to supporting nursing staff. 

A for research although  at the expense of delivering better quality patient care. 

A - F for Senior Management. Most very engaged, supportive, and informed. But a few who are disconnected, uninformed, and  lack ability to manage their areas. Result - unable to adequately evaluate those who report to them, indecisive, and manage by consensus.

A for culture and compensation. Overall,  very employee friendly and supportive, perhaps too much so. HR continually strives to make it a better place to work, although too many employees complain no matter how well they have it.

For common workers, there is no good workload estimation for them. It is very common to be treated as cheap labor, although the salary is really good compared to other academic institutes. The leadership dose not have a good standard to promote current employees. Usually the manager may not have enough freedom to promote team members due to higher leader's pressure. Higher leaders don't know the exact workload of common workers, which make the promotion of common workers  very subjective and decided by the higher leaders. It is very likely the higher leaders prefer to recruit outside newcomers who  would be under his management.


Answering phones, talking to donors and or vendors, processing contracts, lots of paperwork and guidelines to follow. Didn't learn much from current director since she was always "working from home". The person that ran the office was the person with the strongest personality. The director would only use her power on staff at entry levels.  The hardest part was being able to please everyone since it was all women and sometimes very fast pace. People didn't always understand how long some things take to get processed. The most enjoyable was the satisfaction of knowing that you made a difference is someone's life even if you were the little person behind the scenes and you got no recognition

What is the best part of working at the company?
Easy work, great benefits, beautiful campus, amazing mission

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Currently, the parking. Also, depending on the department, the way things are managed can be a source of stress

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Depends on the department. Some managers are laid back and don’t care much as long as you get your work done. Others are controlling, manipulative, give workload based on your ability to comply and not ask questions. Your experience will depend on the type of manager you have

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Clock in. Complete mailings. Scan surveys. Do additional tasks if needed. Clock out

a day at work was like being world connected you always met and was greeted with the upmost respect. i learned how to gain quanilty employment while mutitasking my duties as data entry clerk.The management team was rewarding and always made sure the kids came first which was our main goal and foucus each day. The co-workers were always pulling together this what keep the hospital running smoothly on a day today basics. The was'nt a hard day because we understood to always be on top of the day weather missing employees or not. The most enjoyable part was to see the smile on the parent faces knowing that their child was to be able to see another day in their life.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Researcher 3 salaries reported	$69,947 per year
Postdoctoral research associate 3 salaries reported	$81,000 per year
Scientist 8 salaries reported	$106,355 per year
Registered nurse 9 salaries reported	$35.44 per hour
Postdoctoral fellow 7 salaries reported	$73,679 per year

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