Toxic work environment - Environmental Engineer CDM Smith Employee Review

1.0
Oct 14, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits package is good Good projects if you can find them and fight for them Good project managers if you are lucky

Cons

Toxic work environment Low pay compared to competitors Sexism and racism are prevalent and flourishing Poor management Poor company structure Minimal opportunity for growth They measure your “utilization” which is how billable you are. Management is responsible to make sure you have work and are on projects but if you don’t meet your “utilization” goal it falls on you.

Explore other reviews about CDM Smith

5.0
Apr 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of training and opportunities

Cons

Company structure can be confusing

1
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CDM Smith Response
3w
Thank you for taking the time to leave us a 5-star review! It was great to have you as an employee and wish you all the best in your future endeavors.
2.0
Jun 18, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible hybrid schedule is very nice and starting salary is high for early career engineers.

Cons

The main people running the company are not engineers and you can tell. They are all focused on utilization with rates often set at 97% or higher. This had led to my supervisor asking/telling me to not charge company required trainings. As an early engineer it really feels like they don't want to invest in me and only care about their bottom line. If you are an early career structural engineer you will also not get any meaningful work until you've been with the company for at least 5 years. The senior engineers do not trust you and will only give you grunt work.

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