Successful company with a strange and secretive work culture - Sales McMaster-Carr Employee Review

2.0
Feb 29, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The salary and benefits are excellent. The facility is very clean with fine amenities for employees. The company is generous with official employee outings and events. There is no "take home work" for non-management stream employees.

Cons

My experience was in the non-management stream on the sales floor. While the company states they hire well-educated individuals for their "intelligence and decision-making abilities," in the non-management stream, you will likely be questioned regarding many of the trivial decisions you make, even ones where the company agrees 100 percent with what you have done. This is not a job where you will feel empowered to get on with your work. You will not be given positive feedback. The company's stated model is that you "will learn from negative feedback"; however, such feedback is often provided in a critical, rather than constructive manner. You will be managed by young, Ivy-league graduates who have little or no experience managing people. Supervisors walk the floor throughout the day to listen to your calls, so you will always feel there is someone standing behind you watching. You will be moved around at will, without notice, from area to area. You will be told "we have a plan for you," but you will not be told about the plan. All breaks are scheduled and monitored, bathroom breaks included. If you value your job, you will attend all social "drinks nights" that are organized by your team or area. Failure to do so will put you at odds with your supervisors and managers, and once you are out of the loop socially, you will be iced out professionally (eg, overlooked for training, development or coaching opportunities, etc). After working very hard for them for a year, I was pulled into a small office and told "this is your last day," and that was it. The company is very closed and secretive about its business and personnel dealings, and they are especially sensitive to any negative press/feedback or possible lawsuits regarding unfair dismissal. This is good news for you if decide to work for them. If you are pulled into a small office one day to be let go, it is likely you will be in an excellent position to negotiate a payout, and I strongly urge you to do so.

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

5.0
Jun 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

At least in the Systems department, it’s a helpful and collaborative environment.

Cons

3 days in office and potentially long commute from the city

4.0
Jun 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

- Pay/benefits are incredibly generous - People are generally easy/nice to work with - Note that the Systems department seems to be fairly isolated from the negative issues discussed in other reviews (e.g. tension between warehouse workers and management) - I haven't experienced any of those issues within the systems department. In my opinion, Systems is a great place to work and develop as an engineer. - Hybrid work style (3 days in office). Personally, I like hybrid more than both fully in-office and fully remote styles. - Great cafeteria with good food and cheap prices. - Good work/life balance (outside of being on call, I can leave work at work).

Cons

- Work is not super interesting to me. I come from a highly technical, but very different (not ecommerce/industrial supplies), background where I was doing work I was much more interested in. No doubt there are folks in Systems who love the domain though. - While I'm not on call a ton (1-2 weeks every few months), I really hate being on call. I like to leave work at work. Note that joining at least one reliability team is expected within your first year or so.

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