Manager - Anonymous employee McMaster-Carr Employee Review

2.0
Feb 22, 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great salary and an excellent staff of people. I made great friends that I will have for a lifetime.

Cons

Everything else. They have a weird culture with a strong "us versus them" mentality for staff - management. Overall it is an extremely paternalistic company. There are no internal job postings. Opportunities are sprung on people (or withheld) with little regard to the interest of the employee. Full flexibility on the part of employees is demanded. A staff member may work in one department with a 6am - 2pm shift one day and then be shifted to a 9:30 - 6:30pm shift the next. New, big ideas are prized above all else, and that's definitely how to get ahead. However, it is always expected that the operation run without a hitch, and it's run on the backs of its employees.

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

5.0
Jul 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Excellent people, great opportunities internally and externally to learn. Met some of my best friends there.

Cons

Can be stressful, long hours, and of course at times competitive.

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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