I thought it was gonna be great - No Title I Move Between Departments Too Much McMaster-Carr Employee Review

3.0
Nov 3, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

awesome pay, awesome benefits... thats it

Cons

I started striaght out of college... but I was told by the recruiter that I would not be a good fit for the management training program, so I accepted a hourly level job... come to find out I wasn't a good fit because I didn't attend a ivy league type school... even though the degree I went to school for was a perfect fit the atmosphere of McM... since being employed there I have moved between 5 departments in 2 years and depending on the manager/supervisor you'll either be "meeting expectations" or about to be fired you have no opinion on any topic reguardless how many times they ask for your input, many times I have brought up ideas to see them used a month later as some new supervisors ideas vacation is impossible to get unless you have an in with the management... and no more than 3 personal days a year... don't get sick or have children that get sick this place is awesome if you can punch the clock and be a robot if you are opinionated you wont last long, either you will rub one of the HR train people the wrong way or you'll upset the management... for as diverse the employees are I've never seen a place so uptight and PC

Explore other reviews about McMaster-Carr

5.0
Jun 14, 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
Jun 16, 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.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All