Something to do between age 35 and 50 if you have a family... - Anonymous employee Dow Employee Review

3.0
Mar 9, 2015
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- company tries very hard to ensure quality of life in a small town (Midland), location can be quite nice for people with young families - company will be undergoing a massive leadership and middle-management overhaul in the next 18-36 months, so lots of opportunity for newcomers between the age of 35 and 40 since young talent is impossible for the company to attract to Midland - if you can tolerate the focus on process over efficiency the quality of life can be fantastic, the HQ clears out every day by 6pm, every Friday by 2pm between July 4 and Labor Day and is completely empty on the weekends - lots of time available for training and development - bonus will be good once every 4 years or so, in between you can clean up on LTI's and stock purchase plan - pay at Dow will be lockstep but the Dow brand on your resume attracts HR recruiters and you can make a killing when you leave

Cons

- you need to be in Midland to have any real shot at advancement - Midland is in a very poor part of Michigan, so you will be surrounded by rednecks and meth labs if you venture outside of town - local community is split between Dow and non-Dow, so all of your "friends" will work for Dow - the public high schools are horrible (ignore the rankings) and private education is non-existent unless you are an evangelical Christian, so education for children becomes much more of a challenge for older families - housing market is a disaster, you will buy cheap and sell cheap so don't plan on making money on real estate and your home will be a hurdle to relocation after you leave Dow - you will leave Dow, every employee after their 50th birthday becomes a target for layoff and you will want to leave the minute your children finish high school before your trailing spouse leaves you - job market for trailing spouses is non-existent, unless your spouse also wants to work for Dow - office politics are among the worst around, probably as a result of such a large company residing in such a tiny town; there is no escape from the politics since your boss will probably attend the same church and shop at the same grocery store

Explore other reviews about Dow

5.0
Apr 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Culture and the technical expertise within the company provide for a working environment where you don't work in silo and everyone is willing to help support you

Cons

Administrative systems can be burdensome to overcome.

2.0
Mar 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Safety culture, flexibility (although less and less over time). Good health insurance and 401k match

Cons

Dow’s recent years illustrate the challenges of trying to simultaneously satisfy Wall Street’s demands for strong financial performance and aggressive DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) priorities. The company has heavily emphasized inclusion initiatives, including its openly gay CEO publicly sharing that coming out was one of the best days of his life in an internal communication, along with a notable increase in women appointed to senior leadership roles. Hiring practices reportedly require diverse candidate slates—including female candidates—and diverse interview panels before filling positions. These efforts, while well-intentioned, appear to have contributed to a series of questionable strategic decisions. Employees have borne the brunt through repeated rounds of layoffs (including significant cuts announced in recent years), minimal merit increases often in the 2-3% range, stalled promotions, and little turnover at the top levels of leadership. Senior executives seem insulated from the consequences, potentially overlooking how these factors—including their own leadership—may be central to the company’s ongoing struggles.

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