KBR Reviews in Houston, TX Area

Pros

Good people, good location and the opportunities are moderate. It's just a contract company after all so do not expect alot.

Cons

Some people don't know you and can be very disrespectful but then we all have our issues so it is understandable.

Pros

Good benefits, 9-80 work schedule.

Cons

Too many managers/supervisors in one department giving orders, stressful. I was shown no respect after eight years of being dedicated to my job; get layed off with no notice and keep the temporary people on with the company that started within one year of their employment.

Advice to Senior Management

Need more management training through out the company. Give respect to your dedicated employees, if they are going to get layed off give them the opportunity to look within the company in advance; showing your appreciation for their services to KBR.

Pros

Great Learning Experience based on the day-to-day on the job experiences due to challanges faced.

Cons

Less potential for growth opportunities.

Pros

Good retirement with good medical benifits. There are many overseas opprotunities with KBR. Salary is competative with other companys in the industry.

Cons

There seems to be a lack of support from upper management. Take a long time to get responses from the home office.

Pros

Globally engaged company. There are desirable positions within the company. Comfortable working conditions. Not too stressful. Not overly formal or stodgy.

Cons

Not any easy place to latter climb. The company relies heavily on many, many base level employees and isn't overly interested in helping any of them ascend the ranks into management.

Advice to Senior Management

Put more effort into career development of employees. Expecting people to come in, do a job, and go home without considering their future isn't endearing.

Pros

Name recognition, substantial technical standards, expertise in various technologies, highly experienced and knowledgeable Chief Engineers, clearly defined procedure and structure, comparable benefits, laid back environment, most of the Houston employees do not need to travel, lot of volunteering activities and layoffs do occur but company is reluctant to let go of people.

Many employees stay at KBR for their whole career, so called "Lifers". KBR offers a steady job without much performance demand and it is hard to get fired once on the inside. It is good for those who have obligations outside of work (family, school), those without ambition and even those who are technically bad performers but who can win the popularity contest. For those that leave KBR, the KBR name offers them leverage in obtaining a new position.

Cons

Junior Engineers (less than 5 years experience individuals) will not learn much at KBR because KBR's segregated work processes and KBR's inability to win detail engineering projects. Work will be limited to being a glorified engineering secretary. In addition small errors are pointed out (you will be thrown under the bus) and recognition not readily given, mainly due to poor leadership by High-Level Engineers. But due to KBR's laid back culture, junior engineers can manage to go back to school part-time (Masters, MBA - although KBR does not give much tuition support) while still working full-time or pursue other fun or profitable part-time business opportunities.

Mid-level Engineers (5 to 15 years experience) are not utilized effectively. They are given multiple tasks to execute but all the recognition goes to the High Level Engineers and they get the blame for any faults in the project schedule and budget. The smart ones have learned to play the game and push back on responsibility and to "look" busy. The unlucky ones get poor performance rating for trying to take on more work.

High Level Engineers (15+ years experience - Work Group Leads, Process Managers, System Leads, Project Engineers) are for the most incompetent. They have no specific training on leadership and ended up as leads just based on seniority. Most lack technical expertise, delegation skills, interpersonal skills and some struggle with English. They are rarely removed or reprimanded for project failures because they know network of people inside KBR and know how to put the blame elsewhere i.e. other disciplines, client or on their own subordinates (Junior or mid-level engineers).

Houston Engineering Management Team (Department Managers, Staffing Managers – supervisors of Junior, Mid-Level & High Level Engineers) is a joke. They do not get to know their engineers or try to keep them motivated. They do not try to add value to KBR by pushing engineers to develop new technical advancements nor find ways to cut cost. They are mainly concerned with their own career track and use their engineering management position as a stepping stone for their own career growth.

Yearly Performance Reviews (Peer Review, Performance indicators) are solely based on your current superior's review (Process Lead, Work Group Lead, Engineering Manager). Houston Engineering Management Team does not take any effort in hearing what the individual engineer has to say about his or her supervisors, hence High Level Engineers are given the benefit of the doubt and lower level engineers are rated based on High Level Engineer’s opinion. This leads to lot of political games i.e. Junior Engineers who are very friendly (joke around with, brownnose) with their High Level Engineers are given better performance rating regardless of their work performance.

KBR culture is a bit too laid back at times - unprofessionalism is rampant - everyone tries to be a comedian, co-workers are very nosy, no accountability - engineering disciplines blame each other for project schedule, and dress code is extremely relaxed (jeans on Monday).

Recently KBR has been opening new engineering offices overseas and outsourcing many engineering tasks. Mainly to cut cost. KBR remains an expense provider of engineering services because of its size and its poor Houston Engineering Management Team – reluctant to fire bad performances, keep employees just based on seniority / popularity, failure to make proactive changes…etc.

Overall KBR is a good company for junior engineers to start out with and get the KBR name on the resume, for individuals who want or need a steady job without many fluctuations or challenges and those who can win a popularity contest. But since KBR is a big company, with poor Houston Engineering Management Team, a rigid structure and a political culture of unaccountability, it is not for those who want to take on more responsibility, make a difference, work on innovative designs, and move up.

Pros

Good Benifits
Good Pay
Great place to start out of college

Cons

Located downtown
Always looking for charge numbers to bill to for timesheet logging.
Projects micro manage workers time charges down to the hour.
Always shifting jobs to offshore locations.

Advice to Senior Management

Look to incourage internal training of the current staff that you have. Instead of hiring and layingoff employees, train the staff you have to work other areas in other departments.

Pros

KBR has many international opportunities available, and is a well recognized firm in its field. Clients recognize the ability of KBR to perform exceedingly well.

Cons

Working at such a large company one often finds themselves lost in the numbers. It can be difficult to find ways to make yourself heard.

Advice to Senior Management

The most difficult obstacle I have encountered is feeling that I have the options to move into a position I feel most suits me.

Pros

Lots of career opportunities, need to expedite hiring process.

Cons

Overseas employee benefits is not very.

Advice to Senior Management

Continue doing what your doing. Senior management are doing an excellent job.

Pros

If you need to make some money quick this is the only viable option, and beleive me they know that also ..KBR stands for Kan Be Replaced..

Cons

On a scale of 1 to 20 of things you have to worry about in a warzone in Iraq, bullets and mortars are like number 18 on the list. THE PEOPLE you work with are your number 1 threat, everybody will eventually get fired for something, you may pass up promotions just because you are unaware of the co-workers waiting for you at another job site.Over the years I have seen the most honarable people get fired for most ridiculous accusations and in turn have the worst ,have a extended tenure.
Its all about who you know , If you have any post secondary education or a skill set that makes you valuable anywhere else I highly recommend you do not put yourself through the KBR experience.

Advice to Senior Management

Practice what you preach.

I also pray that if the the military gets into another conflict for a extended time , that you will not receive any contratcs so you can not monopolize all the contracts and have your if you dont like it go home attitude towards your employees