They are really cheap, CDM = "cost does matter" - 5-10-15+ yrs service = severance of only 6 weeks? - Anonymous employee CDM Smith Employee Review

1.0
18 Nov 2011
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

They do have some options for work from home for quality of life

Cons

Biggest - 4,000+ employees, but only about half , 2,000 or so are "voting" stock holders, they get they make the "coin" and participate in the equity of the company, while the other 2,000 or so employees get screwed, that's fair, huh? If you work long term for them and get "RIF", hope you have a next egg to fall back on because their severance is really cheap.

Explore other reviews about CDM Smith

5.0
22 Apr 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
2w
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
18 June 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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