CDM Smith Environmental Engineer/Manager reviews

4.1

87% would recommend to a friend

(57 total reviews)
avatar

Timothy B. Wall

96% approve of CEO

90% positive business outlook

Environmental Engineer/Manager employees have rated CDM Smith with 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 57 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Environmental Engineer/Manager professionals have an excellent working experience there. CDM Smith is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Environmental Engineer/Manager professionals compared to other employers within the Management & Consulting industry (3.6 stars).

Reviews by job title

57 reviews
3.0
May 23, 2019

Mixed Bag

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Most employees are genuinely passionate about their work. It is an environment that I generally enjoy coming to every day. The company has a wide variety of projects and enough internal latitude to usually work with the teams and projects that are of interest. Work-life balance and flexibility is above average for the industry, but on par with modern work place attitudes. Excellent opportunities to develop from a technical stand point.

Cons

Leadership is pretty out of touch and still maintains an air of "you should feel lucky to have a job here". Compensation is subpar, particularly in competitive regions during an economic boom. Managers would rather hire external candidates than promote from within. Generally there is a disconnect between the brand image of success and the touted employee-centric culture. Performance evaluation is often done by people you have never worked with.

4.0
Aug 10, 2018

Environmental Engineer

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This company has a very good work life balance policy. Working remotely is encouraged as long as it doesn’t inhibit job performance which does absolute wonders for those with difficult commutes. PTO schedule is very good, and the increase from 3 to 4 weeks happens relatively quickly. Holidays are minimal (6/year+Office + Personal). Company culture is for the most part very supportive and promotes a family-oriented environment which may differ from office to office. Fun events will be office specific and my particular office was uneventful but others I've visited weren't. Career growth and mentoring is top-notch for entry level engineers, and staff recognition helps disincentive firm hopping (seemingly more common in younger staff). CDM Smith is a great place to start a career with a plethora of easily accessible brilliant engineers.

Cons

Salary structure at CDM seems to be industry standard if but for the most part lower when looking at equivalent high quality environmental firms. Benefits package is really good but 401k is sadly unimpressive at equal to or less than 50% of a 6% personal contribution. Bonus pool only applicable to titled staff (10+ years experience) This is a consulting firm and so utilization is emphasized strongly to ensure profits are high. Too strong of an emphasis on UT has resulted in two issues on opposite sides of the spectrum: 1) fear of job security in a cyclical industry when work may be low, 2) work hoarding to the point where you must work excessive hours - many times unbilled, and unrecognized Although yearly review indicated high performance and the company makes an effort to highlight top performing individuals, raises do not reflect this in my experience, a pat on the back can only feel good for so long. Corporate is distant from the rest of the firm and this seems to cause a disagreement between staff on new policies, however the new CEO seems to be making strides to adjust this and close this gap.

4.0
Jun 18, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

We get to work on a variety of exciting projects in the field of environmental engineering. I've had opportunities to work in wastewater construction, drinking water plant design, and combined sewer overflow modeling all within my first year. A major benefit to this company is that we are employee-owned, so we are not beholden to the whims of shareholders. We can choose to invest in ourselves. For example, I have been trained on AutoCAD Civil 3D this year as part of a firm-wide Transforming Design initiative. I am able to develop my skills here without always worrying about being billable every week; I've been encouraged to take trainings and attend relevant conferences.

Cons

A downside of working for any large company is not being able to really know the people in charge, especially as an entry level person. We just have to trust that the Executive Leadership Team is making good decisions without really knowing them personally. I have no reason to believe that they don't have the best interests of everyone in the firm as a top priority, but with a company this size, it is impossible to know everything that is going on.

Viewing 46 - 48 of 57 Reviews

Glassdoor has 1,076 CDM Smith reviews submitted anonymously by CDM Smith employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if CDM Smith is right for you.