Great $, if you don't mind selling your soul - Anonymous employee McMaster-Carr Employee Review

1.0
10 Jan 2011
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Benefits. There are/were a few good supervisors & managers there. For about the first year, I loved my job. The assembly manager who went to the office shortly after I joined the department was incredible. He valued his employees and went out of his way to help them out because he knew we would do the same for him. I'm guessing this is why he was moved from the department. This is definitely not a quality the company values in management.

Cons

I could write a novel. The majority of supervisors and managers at McMaster are out for number one only. It seems like the worse they can make their employees look, the better they do. They mess things up that were working fine before only to create a new project to draw attention to themselves and what they can do in the company. They have different standards for different people, showing favoritism to those who neglect their duties in order to chat with them at the management desk. The morale in the warehouse is terrible. Everyone walks on egg shells fearing the words "error," "review," or "hey <your name here> let's take a walk..." People who work hard and keep their head down are punished for making mistakes and "not showing interest in their job." Of course someone who is working hard all day and completing more than their fair share of work is going to make more mistakes than the guy who's walking around singing loudly & joking around with his supervisor buddies and people in other departments (not to mention distracting the people who are actually trying to work). But hey, that's what works around there. If you have no problem being viewed as lazy and taking advantage of your co-workers, then I'd highly suggest becoming drinking buddies with your supervisor. You'll be on the fast track to advancement. As I said in the Pros... there are some good managers and supervisors, but they are few and far between. And chances are, if you like them, they won't be in your department for long. There are many who are legitimately nice people but are so afraid for their job, they have no backbone. Beware of these ones too, they don't have your back. Like I said, I could write a novel but I'd hope this is enough to send anyone running. To put it simply, I was making great money while I was there but I'd rather live modestly than be miserable.

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

5.0
14 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

At least in the Systems department, it’s a helpful and collaborative environment.

Cons

3 days in office and potentially long commute from the city

4.0
16 Jun 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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