Two entirely different cultures - Anonymous employee Varian Medical Systems Employee Review

4.0
Oct 31, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Solid stable company, good product, great market share. Great benefits, competitive salaries. Job satisfaction in what you do for others. i.e. the patients.

Cons

I worked for Varian Medical Systems for over 15 years. There is a HUGE culture split between the Brick and Mortar jobs and the field jobs. When I visited the office (many times), besides the usual politics and begrudging of this or that everyone seemed generally happy and content. Their work/life balance was pretty good and they seemed to be a fairly cohesive team. In the field, especially in the last 5-8 years, you feel like you are just a number. The company has ZERO, respect for you, your life, your family, what kind of manpower is truly needed to provide world class support of your products, etc. If you ask anyone in field service if they work under 50 hours a week I think they would laugh at you. I averaged 65 during a 5 year period leading up to my resignation. That is a tough row to hoe when you have a family. Sadly that is the norm, not the exception. They are basically trying to do more with less as every company is doing these days. I have also noticed a shift in the "value of knowledge" within the company as well. Upper management seems to put little to no "value" into your experience with the company or otherwise. If they can hire someone off the street for cheaper, then to them, that is a better deal. They seem to forget that a person highly efficient and proficient at his or her job can actually save the company money. Lastly, the company seems to put the bottom line before customer satisfaction and certainly before employee satisfaction. I would suggest talking candidly to a few employees before accepting a job here.

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5.0
Jun 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Innovative products with high competition and market leader

Cons

Poor management decisions can lead to mismanagement

2.0
Jul 14, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good amount of downtime. Company car. Decent benefits. Fairly autonomous (depending on manager). Great troubleshooting experience.

Cons

Management can be overbearing. After being bought by Siemens, the company no longer values patient treatment over profit. Work life balance is seriously lacking. You may have downtime but you can’t plan anything during the week due to being on-call. Overtime is now heavily monitored, where it used to be a big selling point. Seeing as the hourly pay is relatively low compared to the job responsibilities.

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