AECOM Employee Reviews about "work environment"
Updated Nov 27, 2023

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Top Review Highlights by Sentiment
Excerpts from user reviews, not authored by Glassdoor
- "Good benefits and they allow enough time between deadlines for work to go out with quality." (in 439 reviews)
- "The pay as a consultant is good and there are a wide variety of jobs and clients to work with." (in 262 reviews)
- "Salary is low for area...rent and taxes are high...with minimum wage going up need to open the coffers." (in 317 reviews)
- "Project managers do not follow ethics when it come to the time charges and scope creeping." (in 140 reviews)
- "No bonus; performance managment system is a joke; must travel for work on own time and no claims allowed for air miles" (in 97 reviews)
Ratings by Demographics
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Reviews about "work environment"
Return to all Reviews- 4.0Apr 15, 2021Deputy Project ManagerFormer Employee, more than 1 yearNew York, NY
Pros
Healthy and diverse work environment
Cons
The company is too large
- 5.0Jun 2, 2021Civil InspectorCurrent Employee, less than 1 yearTabuk
Pros
Good work environment and systematic
Cons
We have good career growth
- 1.0Apr 19, 2011Project ArchitectFormer EmployeeArlington, VA
Pros
Nice stable govermnent contracts when the government is looking to spend money and congress isn't trying to slash every state project. Good people for the most part who have the capability tio treat you like a professional
Cons
AECOM PDD in Arlington, VA otherwise known the National Capital Office (NCO) is a collection several recently acquired AE/EA firms. Having its foundation as DMJM design, there was eventually a collocation of with recently acquired Hayes, Sean, Mattern & Mattern (HSSM). Eventually there will also be a full collocation of former Ellerbe Becket as well. With a total staff of just around 350 employees mostly architects and engineers, there was the expected challenge of trying to integrate the ideas of all other cultures into one identity. This would be a huge undertaking - one that would require the right leadership and management. Unfortunately, instead of integration, management chose a more dangerous path. The 'collocation' turned into an all out clash of civilizations. Much of the management became hostile and certain leadership roles were given to favorites. Also other leadership roles were superseded (i.e. DMJM which is a far more reputable firm had its management side-stepped by that of HSMM) and there was soon another wave of aggressive politics to bring Ellerbe Becket's leadership into prominence as well. By late 2010 there were some truly ugly corporation politics. People were stabbing each other in the back left and right - anything to justify the existence of one another in the midst of a rapidly evaporating workload. Leaders who you expected to act professional were not and in one nauseating scene there was a complete unprofessional breakdown of several of the firms principals for not being invited to a client meetings. This of course happened right in front of the entire team of people who were working late - well past regular business hours. Where there was once a very outstanding group of professionals turned into a cesspool of immature, unprofessional, overzealous, self-serving scoundrels, and maybe their most occasional critic. Unsurprisingly, there were a string of promotions to some of the most woefully unqualified individuals. Clients were literally shocked when they would be introduced as 'Principals' or 'Vice-Presidents.' It gets even worse. There was a lot hiring even during the Great Recession but only of senior level personnel who were brought in with the idea they could bring in additional work. This created an extremely top-heavy organization that carried merely a handful of junior-level architects and a smattering of mid-level people. The later ones would constantly be in the line of fire when there is poor workload forecasting - if that makes any sense. A lot of very good talent was lost. Therefore, when you would spend five days in a row working around the clock towards a deadline, that person doing much of the production would instantly be treated like dirt and cast aside when that phase of the work was finished. Then to add insult to injury, that person would also get lectured on using 'way too many hours' on the project even though they were asked to do their job. So in turn, in order to justify the existence of Senior level staff that supposedly manage projects, they throw their production people under the buss constantly so that they can use of all of the project's available hours for themselves. It has become a perfectly accepted practice at AECOM and completely overlooked by management that is more than in cahoots with this ugly way of conducting business. It came to a point where I was being asked by my supposed 'Studio Manager' to lie about my hours. Unacceptable. Layoffs started around (you guessed it) Christmas Eve! Basically you already had a relatively beaten down and demoralized workforce facing the grim reality that they would be next in the line of fire. And by January 2011 about 2 or three people were getting the axe per week (it is April now and this has continued). It created an ugly political and cultural atmosphere where there was once a positive environment became a dreadful place to come to work. Everyone was on pins and needles and production took a huge hit, gossip and fear mongering became rampant, people started to step all over eachother - and of course upper management seamed only to encourage the madness as they continue to sink even further as an organization. Astonishingly some of the other organizations that AECOM views as 'competitors' (Gensler, HOK, Aedas, RTKL, SOM, etc) were hiring people.
18 - 4.0Oct 6, 2015Procurement SpecialistCurrent Contractor, less than 1 yearBoston, MA
Pros
1- AECOM is a huge corporation with almost 100,000 employees 2- The company is considered one of the most admired companies in the world for 2015 3- The work environment in AECOM is comfy and professional 4- The company has offices worldwide what makes 'in my opinion' an inside transfer easier
Cons
1- As a contractor I was under paid comparing to what other companies pay in the market 2- As any corporate chances to lay off employees are available especially when it come to saving money
- 4.0Nov 8, 2017MEP ManagerFormer Employee, more than 3 yearsAbu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi
Pros
A nice work environment that support employee to give better quality and encourage them for more production.
Cons
Fast expansion with loss of business results to termination of many staff .
- 4.0Sep 28, 2021Anonymous InternCurrent Intern
Pros
Good work environment and people
Cons
Cubicles and not much field time
- 5.0Nov 28, 2019Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee
Pros
Good and healthy work environment
Cons
No cons as such..
- 1.0Mar 19, 2016AccountantCurrent Contractor, more than 1 yearLondon, England
Pros
Nice people across many functions but most of them have left or are in the process of leaving. A minority of employees seems to be rewarded for their hard work. However, being a contractor with the company hasn't got me anywhere close to being hired or even rewarded. With the company undergoing a complete reorganisation, it is probably a good place to work at if one knows how to navigate ambiguity and change well. Good work/life balance and over-time is not culturally required to be seen as hard working.
Cons
As a contractor, it seems there are zero prospect of evolution in the support functions of the business. Too many layers of management along with very poorly implemented IT and financial systems make for a unpleasant work environment. With clusters of the same functions scattered all over the country, knowing who does what and who is responsible for what is hard. It 's been over a year and after an excruciatingly slow on-boarding, I having never been given any stimulation in my daily work.
- 5.0Nov 25, 2014ConsultantCurrent Contractor, more than 1 yearMelbourne
Pros
Very high ethical standards. Stellar talent - it is very satisfying to work in an environment where you are regularly impressed and inspired by the calibre of your peers. Genuine work/life balance (and yes, putting in big hours during times of peak project demands is part of the balance)
Cons
The commercial reality of the recent merger with URS Corp. is that some positions and personnel will be made redundant. Very exciting times ahead for those that survive, understandable disappointment for those who are displaced.
- 1.0Aug 19, 2015DirectorCurrent Employee, less than 1 yearWashington, DC
Pros
Good Salary, Some good people, Plenty of opportunity for hard working individuals to advance if you have time and patience to put up with this dysfunctional mess of a company.
Cons
The AECOM and URS merger is not going smoothly. The basic programs, procedures and tools that need to be brought together to standardize how we present ourselves and do things are being developed much too slowly. As a result, things that should be simple and easy to do take a long time. Contentious relationships between 'Legacy AECOM' and 'Legacy URS' create a 'carping' work environment with too many 'butt-hurt' former URS employees.
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