Caterpillar Engineering Development Program reviews

4.3

99% would recommend to a friend

(76 total reviews)

Joe Creed

83% approve of CEO

98% positive business outlook

Engineering Development Program employees have rated Caterpillar with 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 76 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Engineering Development Program professionals have an excellent working experience there. Caterpillar is rated 24% above average by Engineering Development Program professionals compared to other employers within the Manufacturing industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

76 reviews
5.0
Feb 3, 2018

Engineering Manager

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good benefits. Give you responsibility if you demonstrate capability.

Cons

Big company can have bureaucratic procedures some times

4.0
Jan 31, 2018

Cycles...

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great products, great pay and benefits.

Cons

Cyclical business, on an up cycle now, but the last 4 years were on a down cycle. Major layoffs and restructuring. Very little job movement during this time. Most additions and replacements have been agency or contract positions.

2.0
Dec 12, 2017
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Early career development and training use to be great (different rotational training programs and on the job training opportunities). Plenty of networking opportunities which play a vital role in developing your career due to the large size of the company. Multiple potential career paths within the same company and usually supportive management that supports trying something new or different in the interest of your career. When market cycles are good, there is lots of positives with STIP (bonuses), more travel opportunities, training opportunities and more flexibility in R&D investments. Initially work/life balance was really a focus and felt valued by management.

Cons

Work environments were seen purely as a cost and so many facilities are outdated with dated equipment and no desire to shift any resources at addressing this. When market cycles are down, there is a massive negative shift in the work environment as STIP (bonuses) are all but cut which for most employees is a large contribution of their total compensation. Market down cycles result in business cases to justify everything from business trips, to simple equipment acquisitions and a lot of redundant budget churn multiple times a year in a large wasted effort of human capital to try and justify each line item. There has been a large shift in the view of the workforce over the 10+ year tenure with the company and employees are really viewed as a number and a cost to the bottom line. In downturns, workforce cuts are much more common and a lot more impersonal and quite devastating in the way they are executed. The shared 2 way street of loyalty between employee and the company feels a lot more like a one way street and as people were cut, the work/life balance was valued a lot less as the same output was expected from the remaining fewer employees. Top level management shifts have moved away from the life long, employee to a lot more external focused trying to find external leaders and lots of number crunchers who know less about the markets, dealers and customers and simply try and run the company by the numbers. This focus on external talent for top level leadership is causing a log jam as talent internally can't move up and the value of internally diverse, company built careers is lowering. Additionally, the increased focus on outsourcing jobs and contract work out was an alarming trend that was a short term P&L benefit but will have serious long term negatives.

Viewing 46 - 48 of 76 Reviews

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