Lam is a tremendous learning ground, but depending on location, difficult to move up - Anonymous employee Lam Research Employee Review

3.0
May 15, 2010
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary was ver competitive. Company knows operations and how to manage business ops, financials, technology and maximizing shareholder value. Workload was sometimes too much as the company operates very lean. This is good for the company, but tough on the individual. Senior management is very good. Middle management and field management is sometimes suspect, incapable, and in some cases, not customer friendly. Lots of spreadsheet pushers, and few hands-on field people. Good overall company to work for, but if you are a customer friendly individual, get ready to have your hands full, and lots of "chiefs" telling you what "the boss wants".

Cons

Lots of hours, especially taking care of the customer. Lots of "managers" with fewer and fewer field folks really able to understand, communciate and handle customers and their issues. Sales force has been decimated and replaced with lots of propeller heads. If you are technical, you are still probably at Lam. If you are a relationship type of individual, the company sometimes (a lot) feels this type of employee is expendable. Could have tough consequences for market share in the future.

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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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