Thoughtworks reviews

3.1

45% would recommend to a friend

(3,421 total reviews)
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Mike Sutcliff

56% approve of CEO

28% positive business outlook

Thoughtworks has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 3,421 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Thoughtworks employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews
4.0
Aug 9, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

ThoughtWorks is probably one of the best medium/large tech consultancies and is considered a premium consultancy. It has some very smart people who are leaders in the software industry. They do a pretty good job hiring good people that are not just smart but enjoyable to work with. It is a rather flat organization which is good for people that are more self-reliant and able to hustle for recognition and responsibility. It has an open culture and most people feel free to speak up to anyone. People at TW really care about the software they are delivering. They see it as reflection of themselves and something to take pride in. If you hire a team of them, they'll probably end up caring about your project more than you do and work harder at it. ThoughtWorks prioritizes pairing when delivering. There are many good reasons to pair but from the point of view of the employee, the biggest benefit is probably that it is the fastest way to learn to become a better developer. The people you pair with with fix many of your bad habits and teach you new things, even if they are not more senior. But this is particularly helpful for more junior people. TW is a great place to start your career and I'd recommend it most highly for people right out of college.

Cons

Every company has a mythos that they tell themselves about what they are and where they came from. ThoughtWorks is no different. And in reality no company really lives up to it. Same here. No, we are not a socialist company and never were. No, social justice isn't just as important as making money. No, we aren't all elite technologists, standing head and shoulders above everyone else. But these things have a big enough grain of truth to matter. We're not a perfect company but are far better than most. TW was a much smaller company when I started and a better reflection of its mythos than today. We're becoming a more regular company everyday especially since we are now owned by private equity. That event hasn't led to any night and day changes. You need a longer baseline to notice the changes and it's not all due to that sale, nor are all the changes bad ones. The culture is a very politically liberal one, thought that probably isn't much different than most tech companies. If you are more moderate or even conservative, you might feel a bit out of place but won't feel threatened. Politics doesn't really enter your day job so don't worry about it. One limitation of ThoughtWorks might be that most people grow out of it. Once you're a lead or principal consultant, you might feel there is no natural place to go next. You might find there are better growth opportunities elsewhere and there probably are. It's pretty clear that TW will keep heading in the direction of becoming a more regular company just like all of them that end up in the laps of Wall Street. That might be a less inspiring reality for some people. Work life balance is OK. Now, during COVID, it's great because we all work from home. But before COVID, it wasn't as good. Travel which can be as much as 4 days/week takes a toll. Much of the travel seemed more like force of habit than actually useful. Hopefully, this pandemic will lead to lasting changes with less travel. Salaries are competitive but the best people are probably underpaid.

5.0
Jul 21, 2016

Most Diverse Place I have ever worked

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

People from all walks of live, every corner of the world Your opinions are heard and acted upon Everyone listens Great work-life balance Awesome Benefits Travel all across North America Flat Organizational Structure Rewarded for your hard work

Cons

Not enough Social Justice projects Sometimes takes time for decisions to be made

4.0
May 21, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

ThoughtWorks has great people who are very talented, smart and serious about software excellence. They are dedicated to improving social justice in the world though I think, unfortunately, they don't actually achieved very much in this regard. Young developers can learn extremely rapidly here because of pair programming. A wonderful place for young single people. Besides the intense travel expectation, they do support work/life balance.

Cons

Traveling 4-5 days per week is difficult for everyone except young, single people. Not a sustainable lifestyle for most people as they approach more advanced years and want a family. There is also a glass ceiling on both responsibility and pay so that retaining experienced people is very difficult. Experienced people find themselves mostly in a teaching role and many leave. The culture is a bit cultish and insular. If you are expecting to rise in the ranks of management, you need to be on board with the company dogma and social values, and leftish political slant. The Owner Roy is completely focused on growth and this is at odds with the consultants desire for interesting work on innovative projects. Pay is not very competitive particularly for more experienced people. Projects sometimes feel bloated and high cost to clients. We could be much more lean and become more price competitive.

Viewing 52 - 54 of 3,421 Reviews

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