no coffee at your desk - Sales Development Associate McMaster-Carr Employee Review

2.0
Jul 12, 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

hours are consistent, no overtime. good benefits. very few layoffs.

Cons

work is broken into repetitive, boring tasks. Mid-level management is recruited right out of undergrad and does not have the work experience to question upper management rules. Mid-level managers think citing you for being 2 minutes late, wearing a hat, or having coffee at you desk is good management - they don't know any better. The general staff is way too experienced for the work they do (PhDs doing entry level work) and they are bitter and desperate for validation. A group of awkward adults all trying to prove themselves interesting and cool. They are not. There us a lot of "training" which involves learning McM procedures and jargon. Skills are not transferable to other employers. It is extremely rare for people to advance from the position they were hired into.

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

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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