Jacobs reviews

4.0

81% would recommend to a friend

(7,771 total reviews)
avatar

Bob Pragada

90% approve of CEO

69% positive business outlook

Jacobs has an employee rating of 4.0 out of 5 stars, based on 7,771 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Jacobs employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Construction, Repair & Maintenance Services industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

8K reviews
1.0
Feb 6, 2010
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

9/80 work schedule, which means you get every other Friday off (not because you deserve it, but because you work 9hr days). Workload and work type is very light compared to other companies (particularly those in the non-DoD world). Matching 401K contributions. If you're looking for a place to "hunker down for a while" during the economic downturn, and you can get on a project at Tybrin that has funding for a year or so (or however long you're looking for a port in the storm), then there are worse places than Tybrin.

Cons

Process, Process, Process - Tybrin believes that process produces quality (and that people and their talent have nothing to do with results). All process does is ensure consistency of results, not quality. Incompetent management - their technical skills are stuck circa 2000 - 2001 and some even earlier (like 1996) and they have no interest in considering advice given by people who have a much more in-depth knowledge about current and emerging software engineering techniques, standards and tools; communication between upper management and employees is almost non-existent (the most recent layoff a good example thereof). Professional growth - if it's technical you desire, Tybrin's not for you. If you're looking for a management path, and you fit in with the management crowd (it's a personality contest - it's not about competence or skills) then you can cruise along at Tybrin (until you fall out of favor and/or there's a layoff). Oh - did I mention Process? They think CMMI level 3 means a convoluted process and chain of command are how things (should) get done in the real world. Pity they don't realize that just about everything they use to do their current jobs and live their lives at home comes from non-CMMI level 3 companies (and that the CMMI people/academics themselves don't even use CMMI processes to develop the (worthless) CMMI philosophy).

2.0
Jul 30, 2024
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This review is specifically for their work in the defense and intelligence space whereas the bulk of their work is in the engineering and infrastructure space. They have great benefits: High 401k matching and 5 weeks PTO. After being laid off, numerous program managers from other contracts worked diligently to help me find a job within Jacobs. Unfortunately it did not work out due to forces outside my control as well as those managers but their effort was there.

Cons

Low pay for the defense and intelligence space in the Washington, DC area (very high cost of living). Terrible on-site program management; management personnel who were retained after Jacobs acquired The Buffalo Group. Those managers were woefully under-qualified for their new positions with Jacobs and did not exhibit any leadership qualities. Three different Jacobs on-site managers failed to back me up when the customer wronged me. Two of those same on-site managers blatantly lied to me, stabbed me in the back, and I ultimately lost my job after being brushed-in with a group of employees getting laid off due to a contract reduction. There were plenty of billets available for good analysts and I could have had one of them if Jacobs on-site managers would have simply better better humans. I should have reported this all to HR but was afraid of reprisal at the time.

Viewing 175 - 177 of 7,771 Reviews

Glassdoor has 8,813 Jacobs reviews submitted anonymously by Jacobs employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Jacobs is right for you.