Read both pros AND cons - Software Development Engineer In Test (SDET) Cognizant Employee Review

2.0
Nov 30, 2022
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Paid well. Flexible schedule. Client-side coworkers were often like, "I have a headache, I'll come in late & work later." Or took a long lunch to walk their dog. I didn't do that, but it's nice to know you can. Remote work: anywhere in the US.

Cons

Communication, especially while working remotely. 1 manager never replied to any of my emails. The new manager left, no one told me: found out by an auto respond email. No work laptop for weeks, told I just needed to wait. Never told things to work on, so I found related udemy modules & emailed reports. They hire you after you take a part time 3month training course from Quintrix, even if you don't understand things in class, & market you to clients as a Senior with loads of experience. (I didn't realize that until later.) It makes the clients very unhappy when you're trying to figure things out, but Cognizant does NOT want you asking questions of anyone client-side, only Cognizant employees, whom are all busy... also 97% are based in India, which leaves a very narrow window where work hours overlap. You're trained on specific software, but can be placed on anything, which makes it much more stressful because you're basically on your own, but better produce results. Which leads to a lot of off-the-clock work, meaning your $ paid per hour of input is actually much less (this is not just my experience).

Explore other reviews about Cognizant

5.0
Jul 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Variety of technology stack and project and lot of learning options.

Cons

Limited remort working oppertunity around.

1.0
Jun 5, 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.

3
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