Caterpillar – “Recent grads and mid-level career hunters don't be fooled by this company”

Pros

The name. Period. Looks good on a resume. Intern salary is based on how many credit hours you took the semester before you start your internship, so if you are an ambitious student you can receive good pay for the four months.

Cons

Where do I begin. Caterpillar is a household name in Peoria, but when working there it seems that company business should be in a gossip column instead of the business page. It does not matter the hard work you put in at CAT, it is who you know and what you can do for them. The work environment is unprofessional and condescending. Upper management will mislead you and depending on the area you work for you may or may not ever be able to climb the corporate ladder. Watch out for empty promises for promotions. CAT's "Core Values" are a farce to cover up for their underlying scheming mentality. Do not take anything for face value. Unqualified people are being promoted where as the hard workers are being overlooked. It goes back to the whole 80/20 rule... 20 percent of the people are doing 80 percent of the work... but it is that 20 percent that is being overlooked.

Advice to Senior Management

Take care of your people like you used to. CAT as a household name today could end up being "Caterpillar who?" in the future.