Pros
If you can stay ahead of the curve by getting a good offer, a good signing bonus, get into the S unit program and get lots of them, then it might work out OK. The insurance is great and you do not pay for it. Profit sharing (401K) is the best in the industry or maybe any industry by a bit. This all directly offsets with the lower salaries and raises, so it is really just a personal choice of getting your money now or having it deferred for a later time. You can see some amazing construction projects, as the company builds some great ones. I rated Hensel Phelps low because it is my personal opinion overall, but objectively it is an OK place, my time there was good and reasonably profitable, just read the Cons and know what you are getting into.
Cons
You are a number just like any other large company. You put in your work and you get paid. You just need to constantly review and look out for yourself to make sure you are getting what you need out of the relationship. You have to remember it is just business and not get emotionally involved or passionate about your work. They will certainly take advantage of you putting in extra any chance they get. It is all about politics at the end of the day, so realize that on day one and you will be much better off. The workload per person is great. There are a lot of good processes and procedures in place, but the majority of the work is in the form of spreadsheets and checklists that are unnecessary. Intelligent people find themselves bored pretty quickly with the endless mundane tasks that have to be performed so the company really struggles to keep them around. A lot of the middle and upper management is just average, so I think the really bright people get frustrated with that as well. In my time there I saw all the best people leave and all the mediocre ones with great political skills move ahead. It is just what you need to realize you are in for with a large company. Hensel Phelps prides itself on being a great builder and general contractor, but really it is just about the same as many others at the end of the day. They stand out in a couple of areas (see the Pros) but not nearly as many as they will tell you they do. There are a lot of systems and processes that are very outdated and adoption of new ideas is very slow and difficult, so if you want to have an impact and see your ideas make a difference, you will be disappointed. They struggle to keep up with current technology in many facets of the company, although they definitely sell it differently on the outside. Always just a few steps behind the real construction company innovators. In my time the numbers worked out well for me, but I have been seeing greatly increasing numbers of people for whom the salaries, promotions, s-units, are not commensurate with their contribution. They are currently adding people at an alarming rate and are not able to train them very well or spend the time with them so they can develop to their potential. I don't know how that will work out, but I saw them do it before 10 years ago and it did not end well.
