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Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

Is this your company?

Great place to work if you have never left the Palouse; otherwise look elsewhere! - Senior Supervisor Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Employee Review

1.0
8 Nov 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice facilities. Cafeteria food every Friday--but you can all eat together. If a person has grown up in Eastern Washington, and simply wishes to be employed, it's a great place to work.

Cons

The very best "pump you up," internal marketing anywhere. Heads up! They are giving you the answers to the test. SEL is "the best" and will be "happy to receive suggestions from anyone" as long as it is from someone who has been with the company for long enough to be "credible.". Credible includes ONLY experience within SEL, and mostly engineering. Prior experience or success is often required to get the job, but not desired upon your arrival.

Explore other reviews about Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories

5.0
2 July 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good work culture and benefits

Cons

Less other location options other than Pullman

4.0
8 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Right job for some people. If you buy into the koolaid and are passionate about the power industry this can be an incredible job for you. The benefits are pretty great. I really enjoyed my coworkers, all of them feel human and are earnest. You can live quite cheaply in Pullman. There is an incredible amount of job security. SEL boasts they've never done a layoff. Additionally their ESOP distribution is generous - though it takes 6 years to fully vest. There is a lot of things I really admire about the company and the culture.

Cons

Comp is lower side. A lot of people are hired out of college and have only ever worked at SEL so sometimes I feel like there is a bit of an echo chamber. Small town. I really struggled with the initial allocation of 12 days PTO. 17 after 2 years is much easier. As a SWE, the company feels very catered to their power engineers. Company is very traditional in its values, people wear suits to work. Seems like the timeline for promotion is quite slow for SWE compared to other companies. I see a lot of friction when lower level engineers trying to advocate for changes; though I do think that the conversations with leadership happen in good faith.

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