Thermo Fisher Scientific Reviews in San Jose, CA Area

I have been working at Thermo Fisher Scientific full-time for more than a year

Pros – First, bear in mind that what I say here only pertains to software development. Hardware, consumables, sales, etc are all entirely different animals. Also, the culture and environment within software varies radically from one site to another even within the same functional group.

That said, there is real job stability. The company makes money in spite of itself and it's nearly impossible to get fired. Work/life balance is not an issue. Most people barely work 40 hours a week.

Cons – 1. The pay is relatively weak for the bay area.
2. The technology is very outdated.
3. The organization is completely dysfunctional. Each software group (and there are many) is an island and they often go to war with each other.
4. There is no technical career progression path. It's just senior software engineer/architect -> manager, as if that makes any sense.
5. The management has no idea how to ship software. They keep making more and more process thinking that eventually if they add enough of it, they'll ship something. Spoiler alert: That doesn't work.
6. There are certain people who have been around since the dawn of time guarding the core code which prevents any real innovation being made. If you suggest anything new to them, they immediately dismiss it and claim that you don't understand the intricacies of reading and writing a flat file (that's seriously the tough challenge over here) when it's really they who are extremely slow on the uptake.
7. It doesn't matter how smart you are; the system here will crush any spirit of innovation you may have. You won't be able to overcome all the process and procedural hurdles necessary to implement any real new ideas.

Really, San Jose is the worst place to be in Thermo software. It's a different story in the Informatics group in Pennsylvania and even in the Austin team, which is part of the same group as San Jose.

Advice to Senior Management – 1. As far as LSMS software goes, make Austin the central hub and direct everything from there. They're the only ones who really have a culture of delivery that could scale beyond their own walls.
2. Revamp the whole organization. CMD needs a software CTO/VP/Whatever to pull everything together. There should be a logical chain of pure technical positions trickling down from that role for the high talent people to aspire to.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Thermo Fisher Scientific full-time

Pros – Big known company that is continues to grow.Flexible work schedule, understanding if have appts. Annual bonus is nice. Good selection of coffee/teas.

Cons – Thermo needs to get rid of dead weight. Pay is below average. You can have 2 roles with additional responsibilties and yet still get under paid. You don't get paid for what you are worth. Currently, still alot of changes in the company including reorg and integration.

Advice to Senior Management – -Have better pay for the underdogs who actually does alot for the company.
-Get rid of management who waste company resources, don't know how to manage employees, and can't mentor.
-Show employee recognition...more company wide lunch events and have annual company chistmas party (more social events) or even giftcards can be nice or movie tickets to motivate employees!

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Thermo Fisher Scientific full-time for less than a year

Pros – Job stability. (Fulfilling the 5 word minimum with this sentence.)

Cons – Very difficult to get your work done due to poor integration of acquired companies, lack of focus within leadership, condoning of silo mentality accross all business despite lip service given to importance of working across business.

Advice to Senior Management – Fix the above and flatten the reporting structure

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I worked at Thermo Fisher Scientific

Pros – The technology is pretty advanced

Cons – The management does not care about the employee.
Manager is not capable to respect the staff
Benefits and salary are not good compared to competitiors
Constantly waste time PPI, 5S

Advice to Senior Management – Treat your staff well with respect.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Thermo Fisher Scientific

Pros – The company produces great products and they are truly a leader in its field, and very good at what they do. They provide great innovations in science, and are on the cutting edge of scinetific discovery, whether it is genomics, proteomics, stem cell research, and even in heavy manufacturing, such as pretoleum refining, oil and gas exploration, steel manufacturing, coal mining and other industries. They started out as a holdign company, but in recent years, they have divested some of their businesses and focused more on their core business of life sciences. They are also looking to buy companies all the time.

Cons – Not too well organised, too much infighting withing divisions, not enough direction from top management

Advice to Senior Management – Try caring more about what's beyond next quarter's earnings. Where do you want to be in a year? 5 years? Help employees do better by providign a career path

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Thermo Fisher Scientific

Pros – My fellow employees are very nice to work with, they are very knowledgeable and easy to get along with. the overall working environment is relaxed even to the point of being too relaxed.

Cons – Poor Compensation and no benefits

Advice to Senior Management – If you would take better care of your employes then there would be less turnover.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend