Toxic - Civil Engineer Designer Psomas Employee Review

1.0
May 12, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Been there for years can't find one positive thing about the place.

Cons

Where should I start from? 1. Salaries are the worst and horrible especially for junior levels. They keep on talking about ESOP and how the company is employee owned but after years of working there, you notice that ESOP is not worth anything because of how low they pay you. They basically use ESOP as a justification to not pay their employees. Plus they are not the only company who have the ESOP program so they're not that special. 2. Senior managers waste time by micromanaging and all what they offer is anxiety and panic to their employees. Most managers do not appreciate work done and they have zero trust in their employees. They have no concerns about their employees well being, all what they care about is working 60+ hours a week and being "efficient". They doubt every word and suggestion you give, especially for tasks that require software work (CAD). Those managers never touched CAD in their lives but still do not believe the time estimate given by their employees to complete the task. This is applicable to at least 3 out of the 5 engineering managers in the San Diego office. 3. For the San Diego office, they only provide parking for managers. So all the junior employees have to pay for parking. The office is located in downtown San Diego and the cheapest parking you could find is for $200/month. 4. The work environment is super toxic. Most of the staff is defensive. HR is a total mess and they do not listen to any concerns the staff have. It's surprising when employees voice their complains to HR about upper management and all what HR does is defend the managers. To sum things up, life is too short to be unhappy and depressed for 5 days a week because every hour at Psomas is a load of anxiety and stress.

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Psomas Response
5y
Thank you for providing your candid review. Although we wish your time and experience with us had been more positive, we are thankful for your honest feedback. It's the best way we can identify the things that need to be thoughtfully changed. We recognize that our ability to communicate the value of the ESOP benefit is critical for staff to be able to view their entire compensation package with clarity. We are working to develop a better way to explain our ESOP and how it contributes to staff's overall income, benefits and retirement plan. We hope this will help better demonstrate how our ESOP can work for staff and what makes it an added value. We strive to hire the best of the best managers and staff across the board, but it’s true - we don’t always get this right! We are committed to hiring and growing with respect, kindness, trust and a genuine desire to help each other develop our career paths in a meaningful way. We also agree that work/life balance can be a major struggle within this industry and within Psomas. We’ve developed a Wellness Committee comprised of Psomas staff who volunteered to have their voices represented to help achieve the elusive "balance" we all strive to reach in measurable, deliberate ways. We may not be there yet, but we are actively working on creating change. As Psomas strives to continue improving the staff experience, we'd like to thank you again for your honest feedback. This is very helpful and will allow us to continue improving.

Explore other reviews about Psomas

5.0
Jun 12, 2025
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Psomas hires top notch engineers, surveyors, landscape architects, CM professionals, and more. Impactful projects for our surrounding communities that we are all proud to be a part of.

Cons

Some growing pains, it would be great to have fewer systems and more efficiencies in internal systems.

4.0
Mar 12, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Company wins some of the best work locally. Strong presence and well respected in market. Interesting projects and growing company with a few acquisitions in the last few years. Strong years are indicative of extra perks (holiday or extra PTO). Good work life balance for entry/middle staff.

Cons

Experience varies by team/project manager. Base salary could be better or get company bonus.

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