Pacific Gas and Electric Reviews

Former Employee – worked at Pacific Gas and Electric as an intern for less than a year

Pros – Got to experience doing real work and not some busy work made up for an intern.
Traveled fairly often to various project sites to ensure that the crew were getting the parts and equipment they needed to get the job done.
HR put on a couple of field trips and activities for inters that were fun too.

Cons – None that come to mind.... well some of the online safety training is quite lengthy and dry.

Advice to Senior Management – Respect and take care of all employees - this was true in my department, but not all departments.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Pacific Gas and Electric part-time for more than a year

Pros – There are a lot of opportunities to grow within the company. The company also treats their employees with respect.

Cons – Depending on the position, it may take longer to advance. Parking can be difficult at times.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Pacific Gas and Electric full-time for more than a year

Pros – Lots of resources and friendly people. Work is easy, but hard to keep you occupied.

Cons – The work can sometimes be too easy...surprisingly possible.

Advice to Senior Management – Describe jobs better to keep employees longer.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Pacific Gas and Electric full-time

Pros – Lots of opportunities for upward progression as the company's current employees retire, good work-life balance and benefits, focus on turning the company around and investing in operational and customer-related elements is bringing momentum to change

Cons – Stuffy, bureaucratic and conservative culture does not make it an innovative or fun place to work, or an easy place to get things done. As a younger employee, I have few peers and don't feel as though the company is concerned about my development

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at Pacific Gas and Electric full-time

Pros – Good salary, good benefits, worked with great, talented folks until I left.

Cons – Where do I begin. From late 2011 until somewhat recently, the Information Security department hemorrhaged employees. It started with a *mass* lay off in late 2011, and then attrition took over as dismal moral followed suit. One only needs to do a casual search on LinkedIn to see the exodus of folks from the organization since late 2011 with IT security credentials. The drama began when the old CIO left and a new CIO came in - with no energy sector experience. While seemingly ambitious and pleasant, she began to fire people almost as quickly as she started. Many people got laid off in the process, to include the CISO at the time. The CISO was replaced by an internal candidate who was also a seemingly pleasant guy, but would also have rally prep talks and then proceed to sign folks termination papers. While I no doubt believe he was following orders from above, he is every bit as responsible for the slow demise of the department.

The feeling of mistrust is pervasive in much of IT and especially Information Security. It's disappointing because it didn't have to be that way. This is a symptom of the regressive steps taken to create a more "lean, agile" department. While this goal was and is worthwhile, core staff was alienated in the process of doing so that were with the department for a long time. As a company with a laundry list of information security concerns, this would seem rather counter productive.

Bottom line: there have been a lot of job postings for PG&E this year, looking for "CISSPs" and that is because a ton of people left. If you want a stable job, if you want to be able to actually trust management, if you do not want to deal with corporate cuts, stay away from this organization.

Advice to Senior Management – What has taken place over the past year would be fitting for an MBA program case study in how "not to eviscerate your IT security organization". While there were a lot of dinosaurs that found their way to the door, there were a lot of neat, innovative programs that were axed as well. Don't fool yourself thinking the right decisions were made because clearly you see an organization with the vast majority of people that were there a year ago - gone. And all that knowledge and talent with it.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Pacific Gas and Electric full-time

Pros – Lots of employees are willing to stop and help you; large company environment that is hiring a lot; new leaders in company (CEO) are taking the company in the right direction

Cons – many middle management are very territorial and can be short sighted with their own organization's personal gains, which hinders overall company benefit and improvement; slow to change and lots of very tenured employees resist change

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Pacific Gas and Electric as a contractor for more than 3 years

Pros – Great benefits, decent pay, location of office was great and growth for learning opportunities were available.

Cons – Nepotism continues to quiet evident on who gets hired and what pay rate. You may get hired but ability to move up clearly depends on who you know rather than what you know.

Advice to Senior Management – Base more job advancement of job qualifications, outside HR department and better management oversight.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at Pacific Gas and Electric as a contractor for more than 3 years

Pros – Lots of opportunity to advance within a large company environment.

Cons – Lots of reorganization, which can be a good thing for some positions. For others, it could mean transition out of the company.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at Pacific Gas and Electric full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – Decent pay.
Flexible work schedule.
Um ...

Cons – Do your job too well and you'll get voted off the island. Top heavy organization with entrenched culture of nepotism, favoritism, and mediocrity. Back door politics determine longevity and advancement potential.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at Pacific Gas and Electric full-time for more than a year

Pros – Worked at PG&E during the Smart Meter, San Bruno, and Prop 46 debacles. Encountered a corporation that was hamstrung at the headquarters, but the employees in the field are some of the best and hardest working people I've ever worked with.

Cons – Management restructures constantly. Company issues talking points then revises them weeks or months later, making representatives lose credibility. Pay and bonus structure is not that great, they only give substantial increases if you're about to leave.

Advice to Senior Management – Stop restructuring. Improve pay for frontline representatives. Argue against policies in Sacramento and San Francisco that hurt consumers.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company