Baaaaaah for your sheep herder - Business Operations Specialist McMaster-Carr Employee Review

2.0
Jun 17, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Pay+ bonus was very cozy. Benefits were 100% taken care of. Introductory vacation time allowed was generous.

Cons

Baaaaah. Where do I start? If you work here and you are not in management, you're a mindless sheep. Your thoughts don't matter and you live in fear. New managers literally couldn't do my job for the first 6-8 months I was there yet decided my fate. While I'll point out I wasn't a 5 star employee, I want to acknowledge the morale of that place was awful. I saw no reason to go 100% because McMaster operates on nothing but negative feedback. I was literally warned by a trainer in my first few months to just go with the flow and question nothing because questioning the operation is the easiest way to get canned. After a year of being talked down to and having my spirit stomped in, I quit. Only giving them 2 stars because that salary is a game changer if handled properly in the short term you'll be there. Mostly likely you'll quit too, good luck though =).

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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