Teradyne Reviews

Pros

The people at Teradyne is the reason to work there. It's not a job that you collect a paycheck from. You are proud of the work you do. In my department, my job is valued and taken seriously.

Cons

Communication is lacking at this company. It seems there are many chiefs and not enough Indians. There isn't a sharing of information within departments or divisions. Most people are so worried that they will make a mistake and lose their jobs that they fail to go against management.

Advice to Senior Management

Management needs to be more aware of the people that work there. Layoffs after layffs sets fear and lack of company loyalty at the company.

Pros

Challenging work in regards to technology and time-frame (under crunch most of the time). Very knowledgeable people to work with.

Cons

Never sure of the direction of the company. Changed so many times it was hard to keep count. Not using current technology as far as software goes (C++ instead of C#).

Advice to Senior Management

Pick a direction and stick with it. People get very nervous and leave when so many layoffs occur quarter after quarter.

Pros

Flexible schedule, no pressure from collegues or superiors. Can easily get away with working at least one day per week from home, as well as leaving early or coming in late often. Casual atmosphere. Most of the engineers are intelligent and competent enough. Pay is average, but you can get away with working ~30 hours per week so if you're not overly ambitious, pay is pretty good. Health insurance package is decent.

Cons

Company/industry is extremely vulnerable to weak demand in the semi-conductor sector. Read massive layoffs during recessions. Teradyne customers only buy Teradyne products if they are experiencing growing demand, or if they have a new product for which they require new testers. If demand for the products of Teradyne customers is flat (not even a recession, just flat), Teradyne will sell little or nothing, meaning during a poor economy, huge layoffs occur. During the tech bust 2001-2003, over half the company was laid off; during the 2008-2009 recession, another 60% of engineers were laid off. In 2000, company employed 12000, now it employs 3000, if that. If you see a recession beginning, start looking for a new job. Even if you are not cut, most of your friends will be, and your salary will also be cut by at least 10%, with no hope of a raise for years at some points.

Advice to Senior Management

Despite their experience with numerous industry downturns, management never seems to be preparedahead of time. I'm sorry, but if you make over a million dollars per year, try earning it by preparing the company for weak demand. Management makes huge acquisitions (buying several companies, overall worth more than half of Teradyne's market cap at the time), then recession hits and they lay off most of the people at the acquired companies, making the acquisitions nearly worthless. And also lay off over half of the original staff because cash is low since much of it went toward acquisitions. Find some managers who understand how to operate under Teradyne's business model.

Pros

Working as a Software Engineer in Teradyne was enjoyable. Engineers on my team and other teams were always available to lend help. The position was flexible hours and was project-oriented with the manager allowing us to work independently and meet once a week to review progress and assign new projects.

Cons

Their salaries are lower than most other employers who hire for the same position. It is not as easy to move between teams and job positions as advertised when you receive the offer.

Advice to Senior Management

I think Teradyne needs to spend more money in their marketing and development departments to produce new products that their customers want rather than putting all their resources in adjusting the existing products (IGXL & flex/ultraflex).

Pros

Good pay and benefits when the company was doing well financially. An excellent team of engineers. If you're lucky to have a manager with good communication skills and knowledge, it can be helpful to your success.

Cons

With all the cutbacks Teradyne has lost a lot of talented and experienced engineers. Career growth opportunities are limited in some of the field offices.

Advice to Senior Management

Some managers are lacking in good leadership and people skills. They should not only receive management training but also anonymous feedback from their employees.

Pros

As a fresh grad, Teradyne was a very good place to work. Good projects that really gives you some confidence. You could try different areas, if you are so inclined.

Cons

it is a very claustrophobic industry, in general.
re. Teradyne, there was some high level office politics, but iddnt really affect the employees that much.

Advice to Senior Management

None.

Pros

1. benefits
2. great team of software engineers

Cons

1. career growth opportunities
2. compensation is less compared to competition and industry
3. managers to engineer ratio is very low

Advice to Senior Management

1. senior management should provide a career growth path
2. research compensation and re-align to match it with industry.

Pros

Very challenging technology.
Extremely talented group of individual contributors and first level managers.
No obvious age discrimination.
Opportunities for people from a wide variety of engineering disciplines.

Cons

Management has extreme problems making decisions and then sticking with those decisions.
Significant strain between east coast design center and west coast design center.
The company often seems more interested with process than with products.

Advice to Senior Management

Make decisions more quickly. Once a decision is made, execute on it (don't revisit it).
A 4000 person company needs to concentrate more on product development than on process development.

Pros

Upside of stock in next two years since the market is near the bottom.
Easy access on and off the highway rt93.
Interesting customers and very smart people who work there.

Cons

Lack of product/business growth outside of semiconductor test market.
Limited authority given to managers to control their teams or bonus.
Company downsizing has hurt career opportunity growth.

Advice to Senior Management

Remember who does the work and recognise them for their efforts.

Pros

Good engineers, decent products, interesting projects.

Cons

Emphasis on process rather than actually accomplishing anything. Management can manage, but not lead.

Advice to Senior Management

Stop managing to the quarterly numbers. Pay attention to what your employees and customers are telling you.