adjunct faculty

postdoctoral fellow

research assistant

assistant professor

assistant director

Worcester Polytechnic Institute

I conducted research in the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry laboratory in which our study was to observe a specific mechanistic pathway that a silanediol and copper co-catalysis system underwent for the addition of indole to arylidene malonates. This would potentially lead to an eventual increase in enantiomeric excess and improve the overall drug production process. I was trained to use different instruments such as an In-Situ FTIR spectrometer, Electrospray Ionization Mass Spectrometer (ESI-MS), NMR spectrometer, and a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). My favorite part was being able function these instruments unsupervised. The results obtained from this study did not support one specific mechanism for the reaction. Our main issue was that we were unable to fully analyze the process because the reaction favors a heterogeneous mixture which would require different instrumental analysis. It was an ethical working environment and the directors ensured that all employees were acquainted with each other's research by having weekly meetings.

People are rude and not helpful. WPI is a cliquish school. There is a sense of artificiality and tension in the atmosphere. The worst management i have ever seen at any organization. When you think of an organization three things come to mind: people, process and culture to deliver strategy.  At WPI, people are misaligned. The process tends to favour nepotism and culture is toxic. Faculty tend to fight in emails and are disrespectful to one another. I have never seen a place where faculty are openly disrespectful of their fellow colleagues. Women are treated poorly. People tend to make jokes about others in a disrespectful way. I was literally shocked how such a culture can exist.  There is a sense of fear coming into work everyday that you can feel you don't belong here.  Most people don't seem to be happy there. Also hiring policies tend to favor WPI grads. Some of the professors  were undergraduates there. Working at  WPI is definitely not good for your mental well being.

The culture at WPI is toxic and has only worsened since the pandemic, senior management huddles together to make decisions that are not strategic, not well thought out or properly vetted. After they have been implemented and things go south then the finger pointing of management starts. The pay and benefits compared to peer Universities stinks, they reduced the retirement match and openly admit that salaries are below competitors. So instead of HR doing something about it, they hire a consultant firm at $1M a contract to tell them what they already know and should be able to correct on their own stating that the role out for merit increases will take 5-7 years. How many people could have gotten a significant pay bump from that $1M contract. Oh and did I mentioned their endowment is north of $500M and they keep hitting employees up to donate to the campaign but then cry poverty when it comes to raise time.

During my stay, I conducted research in the areas of modeling, control and monitoring of smart structures under high impact loads.
I worked with the best professors in their field and prepared literature review, implemented the project model for ongoing projects, and configured the parameters for them.   I learnt how to use smart control technology to mitigate impact hazard on structures. The challenging part of the research is to develop an accurate mathematical model of the integrated structure-smart control systems. The reason is due to the complicated nonlinear behavior of the integrated nonlinear systems and uncertainties of high impact forces. The best part is the to see how I developed and get experience in my field.

Compensation is very lacking. Raises, if any, are a joke. Additional benefits are good, such as time off around winter holidays, vacation time, cheap health insurance, and a retirement contribution. Management, like anywhere, can vary wildly, but this is a college, and not all administrative management realizes the academic mission and they tend to align their teams against faculty and student wellbeing. Job security is OK, but it is very unlikely you will learn, grow, or advance here. External hires almost always win over promoting from within. The one thing management does well is recognizing that they've stuck their direct reports into dead-end jobs and they should not rely on these people to grow into new roles.

I had a very supportive program director, great colleagues and really sharp students.

The college encourages faculty to keep learning and  improving and puts a strong focus on the quality of education.  There is a culture of re-examination of assumptions and incremental improvement.  Contract instructors are well paid compared to most schools and treated with respect as faculty.

Teaching load is significant but not unreasonable and class sizes in my program were fairly small (15 to 35 students.)  You are expected to work well both independently and proactively and as part of a team.

There are some policies that are less then perfect but that's true with any significantly sized organization.

I ran into trouble when the level of disorganization led to in-fighting between departments. Management was not transparent on issues brought up by individuals or by staff representatives. Pay was under market, and when employees left they weren't replaced. Within my own team we had some of the best people I've ever worked with, but the organizational issues made it overall difficult to tolerate. WFH was a huge benefit, but it was criticized by management and put into question on a number of occasions. For now, WFH stays. Very flexible with hours but expected to be reachable on weekends and wasn't given the comp time I was promised. My advice: bring down the siloes, starting listening to feedback.

To be fair, the management team I reported to is no longer there; however, they were not supportive, hired me to do an impossible job, then fired me without a proper review (the employee handbooks specified a 6 month review, which I never received). The workday in my department was rigid at 8:30-5:30 with zero flexibility. My supervisor gave me no direction then screamed at me and berated me in front of all my colleagues for not doing things the way she wanted me to do them. The message I received loud and clear was, "Sit down, shut up, do what I say and nothing else. I don't want to hear your suggestions fro improving processes, I just want you to be a glorified secretary."

One of the standout aspects of this position has been the wonderful working environment fostered by both the management and my colleagues. The manager for this position has been exceptionally supportive and approachable, always willing to provide guidance and assistance whenever needed. This has played a significant role in creating a positive and productive work atmosphere.

Similarly, my colleagues have been very nice and collaborative, contributing to a team-oriented environment where everyone is motivated to contribute their best. The camaraderie and mutual support among the team have made my experience even more enjoyable.


What is the best part of working at the company?
The community, the other tradesmen were for a majority great to work with, a few bad eggs but that’s everywhere.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The work was stressful some days but that’s to be expected.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It’s great, the best job and crew I ever got a chance to work with. If I didn’t relocate I would stayed 30 years 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Check the calls that came in on the computer. Grab a few work orders and go bang them out, Eat lunch, do a couple more calls and head home.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Adjunct faculty 179 salaries reported	$6,418 per week
Postdoctoral fellow 86 salaries reported	$62,035 per year
Research assistant 31 salaries reported	$19.66 per hour
Assistant professor 74 salaries reported	$109,860 per year
Assistant director 15 salaries reported	$59,007 per year

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