High pay, high expectations. - Senior Engineer Jacobs Employee Review

3.0
Dec 4, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Jacobs Engineering offers a high rate of pay compared to other companies, especially for senior staff. The company is global and enormous by headcount, offering plenty of exciting work opportunities around the country and around the globe. The company's overhead is very low, giving it a big edge in winning work from competitors. Management genuinely cares about employee safety and job security and works hard to keep employees in good health in some dangerous work places like refineries, construction sites, chemical plants, industrial facilities, and pharmaceutical factories; and to keep employees busy earning money hand over fist for themselves and the company. The vacation/PTO policy was recently made very generous, with 3 weeks to start, 4 weeks after five years, and 5 weeks after 15 years. Jacobs also offers standard hours of four nine hour days and a four hour Friday, allowing employees to take long weekends by using just 4 hours of PTO, or working an extra 4 hours in the previous pay period. This is really nice around the summer holidays and the Thanksgiving/Christmas season. If an employee is in the 4 weeks PTO range, the employee can take off three Fridays per month indefinitely without exhausting the PTO allowance for the year.

Cons

Jacobs Engineering makes frequent job assignments of some employees far from home. These assignments come with expectations for two week stays at the job site and very long distance travel, as far as across the country. There is little sympathy for the needs of family and homelife, and it is my impression that many of the people in these assignments are single, divorced, or in unhappy marriages where happiness is found by mostly being apart from their spouse. There is some quarrelling between offices over employee travel expenses which can lead to some difficulties with these assignments due to how revenue is recognized by the different regions and divisions - which really makes no sense in the big picture because it all ends up in the same bottom line for the stockholders no matter which region gets the profit or expenses of the employee's efforts. Jacobs benefits are very expensive to the employee - $300 every two weeks for health, dental, and vision, plus 1% of salary for disability insurance, and the company only offers 6 holidays per year. The health and holidays benefits package is one of the most negative things about working at Jacobs.

Explore other reviews about Jacobs

5.0
Apr 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Strong learning environment for entry-level engineers Great exposure to large-scale transportation and infrastructure projects with experienced mentors and structured onboarding. Reputable global firm Jacobs’ strong brand name adds credibility to your résumé and opens doors for future opportunities in both public and private sectors. Good career growth and mobility Clear pathways to move into roles like Project Engineer, Assistant Resident Engineer, or Construction Management with internal postings encouraged. Supportive team culture (project-dependent) Most teams are collaborative, and senior staff are willing to guide junior engineers, especially in inspection and CM roles. Competitive benefits and job stability Solid health benefits, 401(k), PTO, and steadier work compared to smaller consulting firms—especially on long-term public agency contracts.

Cons

Growth pace depends on manager and project Advancement and role expansion can vary widely based on leadership and available opportunities.

1
5.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great people and culture, internal mobility if you’re networked

Cons

Lots of internal process/procedure but to be expected at a large firm

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