Don't do it - Manager McMaster-Carr Employee Review

1.0
29 Mar 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Pay was good for the number of hours worked. Benefits were also good, and the company covers 100 percent of insurance premiums. Some of the employees and managers are--or were--genuinely interesting human beings.

Cons

A lot of people were spiritually crushed working there. The company culture and tools are also so specific that after a while you feel like you don't have much to offer another employer. The culture is cold and based on fear and control. No one feels like they have control over anything. This includes managers. Because each successive level of management is micromanaged and tamped down by the levels above them, the result is an overall toxic organizational culture. This is not the place to learn the skills that can get you to your next role. If you don't know Excel well, you'll pick up Excel skills. Otherwise, the tools and systems used at this company aren't widely used elsewhere. You're also unlikely to learn solid, healthy management skills here unless you take it upon yourself to be different. Even if you that, it won't help your direct reports because of the system you're working in.

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

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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