Where do I begin?
MSK has an beautiful veneer and presents really well from the outside. Great patient care, world-renowned research, and a seemingly inclusive environment which lead to long careers here. Remember that this is a glossy place and looks great on resumes/CVs. This veneer starts with the orientation. MSK's orientation is the best as it is welcoming and claims to value all employees. I have worked in several NYC hospital systems, and this orientation is a show-stopper. However, orientation is nothing like what working here is on a daily basis - they want you to believe this is a supportive environment in which innovation, growth, and passion are valued. Nothing could be further from the truth.
I am going to break this down by subject:
Faculty and management - Faculty are deeply out of touch with everyone who actually does the work; this manifests as authoritative and demeaning behavior, operation behind smoke and mirrors regarding grant budgets for which they are the PIs, and a culture built on microaggressions. Moreover, management is petty. They gossip relentlessly, tread around discrimination issues (both LGBT and race), deliberately leave key front-line staff out of the discussions, take credit for lower employees' work, and hide behind many levels of this so-called success framework. Take a look at the morale among front-line staff - it's low. You have a revolving door they attribute to people getting their education, moving, other opportunities. No, the faculty and managers are awful. People leave toxic work environments not because of the work.
Racism - MSK hires POC to fill a quota. This is me and everyone other POC working here. Case in point: I was actually told by faculty that the normal MSK patient is white, upper middle class and has a nuclear family when I questioned the lack of representation of POC/LGBT/different socioeconomic statuses for patients within the area I worked in. This faculty member continued by saying that adding POC and LGBT patients into this project was "too complex" and that "disadvantaged patients" were a hindrance to this particular project. When I brought this to HR, nothing was done. No slap on the wrist for this faculty member. Nothing. This was one of many experiences I had here - yes I documented all of them.
However, white employees get away with being outspoken and unruly. The level of favoritism for white employees is astounding. Take a look at who lasts the longest here, gets promoted, and whose ideas become research, influence clinical care, and are generally taken seriously.
Homophobia and transphobia - Being a white gay man or woman here seems to be a good thing for the most part. Just enough diversity to be safe. However, if you are a queer person of color, a transgender person, or a non-binary person, stay away. It does not matter that there are employee resource groups at MSK, you do not work with those from the group in daily context. You will find yourself alone and dealing with constant ignorant comments or questions (at the most well-meaning of intentions) all the way up to outright discriminatory statements. MSK is way behind and a damaging place to work for LGBTQ people.
Issues with job descriptions and scope of work - beware of job descriptions that are not truly what they are. While job seekers can never truly have a whole picture until you are actually at your desk in the day to day, it is important to ask exacting questions here as this seems to be a pervasive issue. Ask to speak to others on your potential team about their experiences not just the people you are interviewing with, ask for examples of projects and daily work to make your decisions if you can deal with the racism and homophobia and transphobia.
Many people at MSK have never worked in other environments, and it shows. They drink this Koolaid like they have been in a desert for the past week.
Bottom line:
White people will do well here. Come here if you only care about your salary and benefits. But be prepared to be belittled, experience racism, homophobia, transphobia, and have little opportunities for advancement.
Protect your mental health and dignity if you are a Person of Color or an LGBTQ person. There are plenty of jobs out there in research and program management in much healthier environments.
