Growth of company above all else; no concern for employees personal time or career objectives - Project Manager CDM Smith Employee Review

1.0
17 Aug 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Good fringe benefits (industry standard though). -Lots of opportunities in cutting edge research, design, and construction. -Good networking opportunities. -Strong support for technical expertise and credentials.

Cons

-May require to travel and it is typical to put in 60-hour+ work weeks. -Pay is average for the industry -Taking time off may be looked down upon. It's a matter of pride for many to cash in PTO because they haven't used it and reached the ceiling. Burnout is inevitable. -Management is reactionary rather than proactive. Would rather address project problems as they arise instead of planning for them. -The company is so focused on growth that the growing pains are crippling. They appear to prefer wasting money learning from their mistakes rather than ensuring they have people with the right skills in the right positions. -If management decides on the right position for you, they make it difficult for you to pursue anything else. I believe they have lost many good employees to this practice. -Significant improvements should be made to ensure that jobs are bid with a realistic budget and schedule - using employees' personal time to make up for poorly budgeted projects demonstrates a lack of understanding of the business.

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

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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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