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Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

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Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories reviews

4.0

74% would recommend to a friend

(761 total reviews)
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Edmund O Schweitzer III

82% approve of CEO

78% positive business outlook

Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 761 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Manufacturing industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

761 reviews
4.0
Dec 22, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

New challenges in every project, real life engineering problems that required reading and thinking out of the box, small nice city, great values, 100% employee owners,

Cons

Working 50-60 hours a week for at least 25 weeks per year, compensation is very minimal, salaries is average, city is very nice for family however if you are single or you wife looking for a job outside SEL or WSU the possibility is almost less than 10%

3.0
Dec 21, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

I spent less than 5 years at SEL and I enjoyed my time there. "Most" people (I'll talk about the rest in the cons section) are very friendly and they have a great work environment. I was a Field Application Engineer and get the freedom to choose your own work, what relay do you like to support the most, how many app guides to write vs teaching, etc. They buy you Friday lunch, which might not be a big deal, but at least you're getting "free" food on Friday. You also have the opportunity to write papers and get exposed to the power industry at conferences.

Cons

This company is 100% employee-owned, but that does not matter, Ed still does whatever he wants and if you even consider speaking against his ideas then you get immediately fired. The salary could be better (it's slightly below industry average) and the bonus is a joke (My last year's bonus was roughly $1,100 minus taxes), and Ed's excuse for not giving a good bonus is because he spends all the money in making new buildings and buying jets. There is no real growth path, and you pretty much have to be one of the "chosen" ones to move up in the company. I mentioned that most people are friendly, but some higher-ups are rude and you really can't complain to HR, as HR is owned by Ed and his friends, if you don't mind dealing with these people, or sucking up to them, then don't count this as a con. Finally, if you ever want to move to a different position then you might have to relocate to Pullman, which is in the middle of nowhere and flying there takes a whole day. Finally, there is so much work to be done because they don't hire enough people, so keep that in mind, you'll be working weekends, staying late, and all that overtime is uncompensated.

5.0
Dec 18, 2013

It's a company with many growth opportunities and good benefits

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Health care nurse here at work for all of us, employee ownership structure, free lunch each Friday, day after Thanksgiving paid for, work makes a difference in our industry, my manager he is a nice guy, my health care plan is also including my wife, travel opportunity, good career 'ladder' in my division. There is a day care for children next year.

Cons

Is far from my family and we co-workers are always hungry for more information about this company!

Viewing 715 - 717 of 761 Reviews

Glassdoor has 1,011 Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories reviews submitted anonymously by Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories is right for you.