employer cover photo
employer logo
employer logo

Agilent Technologies

Engaged Employer

Agilent Technologies reviews

3.6

66% would recommend to a friend

(2,670 total reviews)
avatar

Padraig McDonnell

57% approve of CEO

53% positive business outlook

Agilent Technologies has an employee rating of 3.6 out of 5 stars, based on 2,670 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Agilent Technologies employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

3K reviews
3.0
Oct 12, 2014

Engineer

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Agilent does interesting projects. Individual contributors tend to be nice, and competent. Management at all levels: not so much.

Cons

Agilent tolerates bad managers. There appear to be no repercussions for those that ruin the company, or are imcompetent. Cronyism is tolerated. Mediocre pay. Lays off divisions freely and frequently.

2.0
Apr 26, 2012

Politics and Who you Know

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Good people, overall, to work with - Pays the bills, and then some - Good experience - This company still gives bonuses (no raises, though)

Cons

- Every manager in the upper echelons says "our pay is competitive with the current market". It's a lie, blatant and bold-faced. - Management top-heavy, from the TOP down to team managers. With this many managers running around, often multiple teams are doing the same work without aware of the other. Communication is neither encouraged nor managed. - Maybe a handful of managers actually know what their employees are doing, let alone how to do their job for them. If I want guidance on how to read, why would I want an illiterate looking over my shoulder "coaching" me? - It's obvious it's who you know. If you're friends with someone who's broken into the Management circle, getting promoted is really easy. If not, or worse someone in the inner circle doesn't like you, then good luck advancing beyond un-appreciated drone. - Fluff. They believe that by having silly distractions those who work the front-line will forget that they're a number. Casual dress, community clubs, washable marker walls, etc are pointless if all you're doing is trying to paint over the bullet hole in the wall. No one is fool, and those who are belong flipping burgers - $ oritented. True, what company isn't? However, when opinions are based solely on how much $ was brought in by their team, regardless if they know what they're doing, then there's something wrong. - Movement is like a marathon run with obstacles. Regardless of qualifications, if you don't know the right people, have the right recommendations, and kiss the right back-sides, you're not likely to move anytime soon. And if you're a valuable asset in your current spot, management won't take into consideration about your personal growth. Their numbers and team performance are more important, and if that means you stay in the same spot forever, carrying a majority of work, then that's where you stay. Watch for words like "Super Star" and the like to cover up the truth. - Tools and system resources to perform day to day duties are subpar, at best. And when requests for IT to investigate are done, it's either half-assed or "this is in the pipeline, but not as important as other items, so here's a free coffee coupon instead" - Rather than remove the slackers, parasites, and poor performers, the company keeps them around and either ignores them entirely or shuffles them around. They'd rather keep a rotting branch than risk growing a new tree, often times with those who've been around countless years and truly need to leave. Seriously. In order to be fired, there's either got to be porn on the net involved or you smacked someone on the backside....because if your performance is dragging everyone else down, your job is still safe so long as you've either been here forever or are friends with brass. - Office Space - Every year, a new catch phrase...but don't worry. It will be irrelevant in 8 mths. - If you're in management or one of the Sales reps out in the field, bringing in the big money, you're free to be as rude, disrespectful, back stabbing, deceitful, and all around dispicable as you like....if you're not, be prepared to be on the receiving end of the above, be prepared to be helpless when it happens, and be on the watch for those few people in those positions who DON'T do this and make friends with them quick, because there aren't many. - Freedom of Thought, Fresh Ideas, and Speaking your Mind is not welcome here. Forget rocking the boat, if you so much as shift a finger out of step with the rest, you're immediately under the microscope. If it's a good idea, someone above you will claim it and give you a piece of paper in return. If it's a bad idea, it'll be logged as a complaint and filed under "Coaching Opportunity" - Is your manager a bad person? Are they horrible in their position? Would you sooner follow a blind man off a cliff? Too bad. They're friends with the right people, including their own boss, and when you complain up the chain, you better have that resume updated.

3.0
Aug 13, 2025

Had a good time but...

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Competitive products, knowledgeable coworkers both sales and applications specialists, flexible (when I worked there and reported to 3 different managers), fun side projects for career and self development

Cons

On my last year, the direct manager I reported to was a nightmare. They played mind games, policed every single thing that I did, even questioned my expense sheets that I'm qualified to have reimbursed. How did they become a manager? Although I am a contributing employee, they treated me very poorly.

Viewing 70 - 72 of 2,670 Reviews

Glassdoor has 3,211 Agilent Technologies reviews submitted anonymously by Agilent Technologies employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Agilent Technologies is right for you.