Bechtel Reviews in Houston, TX Area

Pros

Stability
Great people
They are making changes that seem exciting to step into the future.
Major player in EPC in the world

Cons

Salaries are not competitive.
Management is very difficult to talk to.
You get "lost in your cube".
Needs to develop young people better.

Pros

Big company, in general they try to keep their good people even in lean times. Work environment is very professional. Management highly capable.

Cons

Moving up to higher positions may depend on who you know. They try to make it fair, but there is still some favoritism to people with the "right connections"

Advice to Senior Management

Look into some sign unethical behavior, especially with promotions and assignments that are not posted to everybody (hand picked). This is also visible with children of some managers that obtain summer jobs just because they are the "son of someone".

Pros

It is a very good company with smart people. If offered a job at Bechtel you should take it. The company is in a large variety of businesses so there is a lot opportunities to try different things and go different places.

Cons

The atmosphere is terrible with no respect for work life balance. Too much focus on hours worked and not production.

Advice to Senior Management

Figure out ways to help employees interact on the project floor. Get rid of the gray 5 foot tall cubicle walls. They are just depressing.

Pros

- Great benefits
- International mobility
- Good starting salary (especially for new-hires out of college)
- Strong emphasis on Health Safety and Environment (HSE)

Cons

- No rotational or employee development programs
- Training is limited due to budget constraints
- Education reimbursements are very poor

Advice to Senior Management

Assist employees receive adequate external training and opportunities to improve their skills and knowledge

Pros

Learning, Good 401 and match, benefits

Cons

Not many career advancement opprtunities

Advice to Senior Management

Take care of employees career advancement and development

Pros

*Bechtel tag name.
*Opportunity to work on billion dollor projects.
*Opportunity to learn.
*Opportunity to move in any bussiness unit within organization.

Cons

*Not a very good compensation but depends on your bargain.
*Not enough training for young engineers.
*Some bechtel long timers are really arrogant but very few. Not a big deal.

Advice to Senior Management

*Try to match the compensation with the market.
*Provide better training not the one for name sake only.

Pros

Bechtel will find jobs for its top performers in other market segments in the event of a downturn. The top performers are less likely to be wait-listed.

Cons

Senior and middle level management are extremely top heavy. Gen X will be stuck at the bottom for at least another decade.

Advice to Senior Management

You should upgrade your computers. It was frustrating to work on a slow computer with outdated versions of Windows and Office.

Pros

Handle good performing employees with some priority in case of downturn

Cons

Lots of beuracracy
Lots of non technical work
Salary not equal to peers from other company

Advice to Senior Management

Hire some MBAs to help improve company performance and promote young personnel in management jobs

Pros

The job pays well and includes some nice benefits. Since the company is privately own it can operate in accordance to long-term goals, which is a large reason for Bechtel's success. Upper management is knowledgeable and supportive of their staff.

Cons

Sometimes the company can seem a little bureaucratic. There is set time for lunch, etc. Additionally, there is a noticeable difference in the age demographic. It seems at times this can create communication errors between the young and old.

Advice to Senior Management

This company is a great place to work and provides opportunities to work overseas. Since the company is project based the uncertainty of work availability can sometimes be stressful, but if you perform they will try their best to keep you with Bechtel.

Pros

Job security for now. Good salary.

Cons

Lack of training and development.

Advice to Senior Management

Better communications with employees and more personal growth development.