A publisher with an identity crisis - Editor PLOS Employee Review

1.0
Sep 7, 2015
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary is OK, but it comes at the expense of benefits and working environment.

Cons

PLOS is unsure whether it is a publisher with a mission, or if it's a business pretending to have a broader purpose in order to drum up sales. The mission of Open Access is a worthy one, but a lot of publishers are doing it better and PLOS is quickly falling behind--many of its ideas are old-fashioned and naive. As a business, PLOS seems doomed as the entire organisation depends on PLOS ONE publishing 30,000+ articles a year, and if the impact factor drops, the model will quickly become unsustainable. PLOS's downplay of Impact Factor will prove to be what brings it down.

Explore other reviews about PLOS

5.0
Nov 26, 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Ambitious and idealistic, so plenty of opportunities to contribute creatively.

Cons

Ambitions are sometimes too high.

avatar
PLOS Response
5mo
Hello- thank you very much for taking the time to write your review. We read and appreciate each one. I think your comment on ambitions is very interesting and I'll be sharing with leadership. Take care!
4.0
Nov 23, 2025
Recommend
Business Outlook

Pros

Co-workers are great and hard working.

Cons

Opportunities for career advancement is limited on some teams.

avatar
PLOS Response
5mo
Thanks so much for your review. We appreciate your time and thoughtful feedback. We are currently working on career advancement initiatives and believe this should be a core focus as we go into 2026 and beyond.
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