Poor Work Environment - Engineering Test Technician II Applied Materials Employee Review

2.0
Aug 21, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Troubleshooting experience gained Benefits and health insurance Co-workers

Cons

-Constantly moved around to different chambers which eliminates the possibility of meaningful progress, and creates confusing workflow -Constant schedule changes, sometimes within a half of a shifts notice. Unable to make personal plans due to the inconsistencies in scheduling. At one point they staggered days off, which meant less experienced techs on the floor in the middle of the week -EXTREME disconnect between pay rate and experience/performance. New technicians coming in making more way more than seasoned technicians with 5/10/15/20 years of experience -Management seemed to care more about the number of chambers getting out the door rather than technicians making quality decisions (i.e. Lead would sign into bay and sign off out of spec results that would cost customer hours of down time to correct when in operation) -Management throws others in front of bus instead of taking accountability -No time allowed for meaningful on the job training due to workload/pace. Constantly told to train new people while they work their own chamber. This often leads to the trainer having to troubleshoot 2 different issues to keep the chamber moving My first day, I was trained by someone who had only been there for 2 weeks. This should paint the picture for you -Every quarter was 'record breaking' and huge profits. What do the workers get? A boxed lunch or cheap pizza at the end of the quarter.....thanks -Asked supervisor for exit interview and for management to be present during it when I put my 2-weeks notice in. Was told no problem, it was very important to them, a requirement, and it would be setup. That was the end of any action taken on the matter. No exit interview was ever setup. I had to personally call HR and do one over the phone. I asked HR if one was setup or being organized and was told no. -Much more, but my advice is to skip employment from this company unless you only want to gain some experience and move on

Explore other reviews about Applied Materials

5.0
May 13, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Wonderful staff - great company all around

Cons

Cannot think of any cons.

4.0
Jun 24, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good health insurance, pay is just enough to not quit, 4% 401k contribution gives 3% match, stock purchase program is 15% discount no annually. Work is hit and miss, sometimes your left to struggle and there very little support, other times things are planned out and well executed. This company promotes from within more often than not so there is a ladder to climb. The work is 12hr shifts which is good for long weekends, but if things are busy with lots of projects you will be asked to come in for overtime. 60hr weeks 2x a month is very common. You can say no, but it’s discouraged in a few ways 😉

Cons

Management is very hit and miss, for the last decade we’ve had the avg stay of a manger <1yr. If you have a good one, they get burnt out from unreasonable expectations, and if you have a bad one they’re so disconnected you get nothing out of it. As a whole, due to leadership being promoted from within they tend to be very resistant to making any changes to their system because it worked a decade ago. This industry moves rapidly, because it was the best a decade ago does not mean it’s the best today. The raise structure is silly. Every year they’ve changed to it to have more disconnect from you and the people who approve raises. Most managers claim they’re told how much each employee is getting from someone that the employee is never met, and then have to argue over how to distribute an additional 5% over the entire team. This means if you work as hard as you can, and really stand out from your peers, you can get an additional 2% for an annual raise and your manager will claim that the best possible.

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