Great Benefits, but at a High Price
Pros
The benefits and high salary will lure you in - it's the only reason I am rating McMaster-Carr with 2 stars instead of 1. Fully covered medical, dental, tuition reimbursement, profit sharing bonus, pension plan, "work-life" balance. You'll think initially you hit the jackpot when you receive an offer from McMaster-Carr.
Cons
The culture at McMaster-Carr is extremely strange, to say the least. Previous reviews here on Glassdoor which describe the working environment as "soul-sucking" are completely true. At first, you are not sure what to think of their business model; they only hire management externally, set ridiculously high standards on their employees, and control basically all aspects of your movements, including your breaks. It also doesn't take very long to realize that it is a terrible practice to keep hiring 22 year-old new graduates with absolutely no credentials except an Ivy League degree to run your departments - These little ones have no idea what is going on when they arrive, but can get smug just because they are given a higher title. It doesn't matter how long you work at McMaster-Carr - If you aren't hired into a management track, you'll get to spend the rest of your career (if you can even call it a career at McMaster-Carr) looking forward to a rotating crop of incompetent managers & supervisors dictating your every move throughout the day, including monitoring your breaks down to the minute (and that's what they think contributes to a great "work-life" balance). McMaster-Carr is stubbornly against evolving away from these management hiring practices - The company makes it obvious that they could care less about their employees and its reputation. They deserve the high turnover rate that exists throughout the company.
