A perfect company to stay away from! - Principal Architect Cognizant Employee Review

1.0
22 Oct 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

For young and inexperienced professionals it's a great chance to see the US. CTS got the low-value staff augmentation game nailed!

Cons

I am a non-Indian, US-based consulting executive with an Ivy League advanced degree and over 17 years of professional experience. CTS lured me with empty promises of consulting excellence from a Big-4 competitor over 3 years ago. There is no way to be promoted unless you are a yes-man on the leash tied to an account manager. I am currently on a layoff list because I refuse to relocated on a whim of inexperienced, short-sighted and self-serving account managers and insist on travelling to client engagements. CTS will not pay expenses for employee travel and will not bill clients for expenses since expense amounts impact their PERCEIVED profitability! This is a joke of a company. If you are an experienced professional - stay away from CTS!!!

Explore other reviews about Cognizant

5.0
27 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good projects, challenging work, lots to learn

Cons

The way the bench status is structured

1.0
5 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A potential inroad into large client companies (Leave Cognizant ASAP) You aren't unemployed.

Cons

It's a body shop. Clients will view you accordingly. Contractors cannot be trusted with most tasks. You must be siloed (No room for growth) so you don't break anything. Your actual job is to fulfill gaps in the client's grunt work even if out of scope. If you don't, the hammer falls from client and Cognizant. Wages well below industry standards. 1% annual raises only exist because legally they must exist. Takes full advantage of H-1B slave system, where employees' families and homes will be thrown into a furnace if you aren't keeping Cognizant happy no matter what. Employees are complacent in their slavery. Management is just happy to get their extra crumbs and will reinforce the bad culture. C-suite is opaque. If you are familiar with India's caste system you will understand how "lessers" are treated. This also happens in a literal sense, you aren't totally safe just because you are the favored skin tone. Takes full advantage of modern white collar culture. "Your racist actions aren't actually racist if you aren't Caucasian." Expect the uphill battle to be even more steep if you're not Southeast Asian. You will hunt for your own work most of the time. Cognizant is not helpful in any regard. They exist to skim off the top and nothing else.

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