Major Pluses and Major Minuses - Engineering Specialist Caterpillar Employee Review

3.0
Mar 13, 2019
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The company enjoys 90+ years of experience, and hence lots of best practices and grey beards who know how products are supposed to be developed. It is indeed core engineering and if you enjoy core engineering - this is the place! It is an international company and does most of it's functions in-house, which means that you have many diverse career options to choose from. They pay relatively on the high side too.

Cons

Corporate hubris is rampant. Ability to pivot into digital space has been messy. Very hierarchical and less transparency in upper management levels. Careers in Machine learning, Big data and AI are mostly based on nepotism not meritocracy. It helps enormously if you're part of the 'Good Old Boys Club' to move up in your career. Most frontline engineering managers are in their 50s - and they've been managers for the last 15-20 years (similar to career politicians) and have very little appetite for new ideas, risk taking, etc. Employee development is poor. Peoria, IL (Cat Headquarters) is an absolutely featureless, culture-less town in which most of the exciting engineering jobs are located. So good luck if you want an exciting out-of-work life!

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5.0
Jun 7, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits Great WLB Great pay

Cons

Low mobility to move up within company

2.0
Jun 9, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good pay Some people in the company are great

Cons

Poorly thought out placement- I was put on a team across the country from where i lived the entired team was new to caterpillar because their company was bought out by cat. They had never had any form of intern before and didnt have anyone else who was remote other then me. Because of time differences the manager reguarly expected me to work off the clock but wouldnt give me project during work hours. No room for growth within team i was stuck to- i asked on multiple occasions how i could stand out and get a permanent position within cat since i was one semester from grafuating and was told by multiple people to just deal with my current role and leave cat because "the only real way to get in is if you work as temp worker and they just hapoen to decide to bring u on internally from that"

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