Legacy performance as a five star company in developing science based customer solutions has regressed to the mean. - Research Engineer T3 3M Employee Review

3.0
Mar 9, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

generally great benefits good 401k match 15% employees 3M stock discount company sponsored HSA health care premium discount for health activities annual incentive program (AIP) 'bonus' annual individual goal setting and individual objectives does effectively guide&lead positive change; results in a substantial amount of freedom in how you get your day to day work done built in knowledge sharing and collaboration across company divisions do it yourself company culture company name recognition on resume

Cons

No sick time to care for family members Supervisors or not allowed to recommend employees for external positions HR is so concerned about paying their employees at the median salary for their job grade that they make you fight just to gain the median salary. If you do well you do get promoted but then you start at the next grade below the median for that level even if you have already proven to be meeting expectation at the level you are being promoted too. Due to recent changes in how contract labor is managed it has become difficult to get paid help. This makes it difficult to devote time to making anything better in your group since you have to do this kind of work on the side of your regular work. This means that the only real way to advance is to work 'overtime'.

Explore other reviews about 3M

5.0
Jun 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good company to work for.

Cons

Large corp culture for employees

4.0
Jun 28, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Compensation is genuinely competitive — one of the stronger-paying manufacturing roles you'll find in the area. Benefits package is comprehensive and well above average. The retirement account and stock options are a real standout, especially for a machine operator role; 3M clearly invests in its employees long-term. Day-to-day, the people on the floor make the job. Coworkers were hardworking and easy to get along with, which goes a long way in a production environment. Upper management is what you'd expect from a large corporation — a bit removed from the floor — but that's pretty standard for a company of that size, Not a deal breaker.

Cons

The shift schedule is rough. Rotating between 12-hour days and nights on a swing schedule sounds manageable on paper, but constantly flipping your sleep schedule takes a real toll over time. Work-life balance is difficult to maintain when your "days off" are often spent just recovering and readjusting, and you can easily miss out on normal life things — social plans, family time, errands — simply because your schedule doesn't line up with the rest of the world that week. Upper management can also be a friction point. When people who haven't touched the machines in years (or ever) come to the floor with strong opinions about how things should run, it creates frustration. The folks actually operating the equipment day in and day out develop real expertise, and that doesn't always feel acknowledged from above.

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