Okay as first job out of grad school - Product Engineer Lam Research Employee Review

2.0
Jun 2, 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

As someone coming to Lam fresh out of grad school I appreciated the training Lam provided. It was a good place to learn the ropes of a big corporation. Lots of other smart people, most of them also new. Good launchpad to better things

Cons

Work life balance is pretty poor. Lam's general approach to problem solving is to first panic, then throw a bunch of people into meetings about the problem, so things can get tense. The problem might or might not be solved, but time absolutely will be spent, at all hours of the day and night. There's a talent drain effect. Lam hires lots of folks fresh out of "tier 1" schools, and those people often want to work at "tier 1" companies. People who are good tend to find a better situation. They either end up at Apple/Google etc. after a couple years, or they decide they want to have a life/family, and go to a company where that's more possible. Either way those who are left, including most of the management, tend to be hard-charging second raters. These are people who can't hack it at first rate company, and have no lives outside work, so they spend their time making a mess of things at Lam. Bad decisions accumulate, and so does stress.

Explore other reviews about Lam Research

5.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Lead business and overview of business

Cons

Too many travelling to international

2.0
Jun 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay is market rate or slightly higher. Smart new fresh grads join every year. They work hard.

Cons

Avoid Dielectric Etch Org as much as you can. Both product and process engineering. Constant Pressure, extreme long work hours, You are working 7/8 AM to 9/10PM, need to work on weekends because of lack of tool times. High level management yelling, screaming in meetings for anything trivial. If CVP wakes up not happy that day, someone will get yelled at in either large or small meetings for small things. THIS IS Dielectric Etch Culture at Lam. This place is a cesspool of nepotism. Even director levels are being yelled at constantly in meetings for various reasons, if he or she is not favored by the CVP. If a mediocre engineer or director who is liked by CVP, he will have much easy time cruising through with minimal effort and knowledge. ... If you are fresh PhD from top or mid tier schools, expect 80hr work weeks, and if you are not lucky, wait for 4 years to be promoted from lvl 3 to 4 level and stuck with no options to move around because you are stuck in Semiconductor equipment industry and other orgs in Lam won't take you. There are many junior engineers with excellent work ethic stuck doing the same things for half a decade without a move in their career. But if you are good at lip service, your life will be easier. Do not trust the general statement of Lam has good culture, it is very very dependent on which Org inside Lam.

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