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Occidental Petroleum

Is this your company?

Great benefits and pay. Not for technically minded people - Process Engineer Occidental Petroleum Employee Review

2.0
May 23, 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The benefits/retirement packages are exceptional. Lots of retiring baby-boomers lead to plenty of open supervisory/management positions.

Cons

Company offers no technical career path, although they claim it's there. This is a production oriented company. If you value engineering design, new technology, etc, this may not be the company for you. If you like to run a plant, could be a great company. Also, the "do more with less" mentality can be exhausting. Company also wants mobility in its employees. If you arent willing to move, you may be stuck in your position or looked over for promotions.

Explore other reviews about Occidental Petroleum

5.0
Jul 11, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Peak benefits, amazing coworkers, giant organization/market altering company to be apart of

Cons

Chances of promotion might come from retirements

5.0
Apr 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Compensation is solid for Houston energy: roughly $150K base plus ~$45K bonus/stock for DS-level roles, with a standout ~14% employer retirement contribution (7% 401k match + 7% company contribution). Benefits, PTO, and hybrid flexibility (M/F WFH, 9/80 schedule common) are consistently praised, and Texas has no state income tax. Overall comp & benefits rating is 4.2/5 company-wide on Glassdoor, and bonus upside scales with oil-cycle performance.

Cons

Base pay for ML/computational roles trails top-of-market (FAANG, quant, AI-first firms), and Houston DS employees specifically rated comp 1/5 on Glassdoor — suggesting pay compression or slow raises relative to market. Career progression is reportedly slow, with employees citing 12-year waits for promotion and salaries held toward the low end of the band. Bonus/LTI are tied to oil prices, so comp is cyclical, and recent layoffs tied to the OxyChem sale and debt-reduction push have made job security feel less certain than at integrated majors like XOM or CVX.

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