A good place to follow orders for above-average compensation. A terrible place to innovate or develop managerial skills - Supervisor McMaster-Carr Employee Review

2.0
Jun 8, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary and benefits are above-average at McMaster-Carr, regardless of your position. The company quickly gives inexperienced hires fresh out of school the opportunity to manage people. As a member of the management team, you don't have to work killer hours if you can get your work done efficiently. If you are looking for a place to just put in time and get paid well, McMaster-Carr is a good fit.

Cons

McMaster-Carr is not a place where you can develop many transferable skills, so beware staying too long unless you want to remain there forever. Innovative thinking and challenging projects are in short supply for supervisors and managers because senior leadership places enormous value on guarding the status quo against progress. They are far more likely to hold an hour-long, multi-department meeting about what salutation to use in emails than about what strategies are best for growing the business and defending against competitors. The ambition and intelligence of senior leadership remains to be seen, which is disheartening for all of the people below them. I sat near the CEO in several meetings and often wondered if he was awake.

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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