Pros
As with any place there are some nice people, but that's not unique to US - you can find them anywhere you go. Newer offices that are nice, but again, nothing unique here. Free sodas & cheap snacks.
Cons
- The "leadership" (and I use the term loosely) is highly ineffective in the Rocky Mountain region. The culture is more about who you know or who you're related to instead of what you know - there is nepotism here at the highest levels which creates a bad environment. Favoritism is rampant in the Colorado office & if you are not within the small circle of relatives/favorites you will very much feel it. - Management has a very "old school" mentality in how they operate. They place more value on if you're in the office from 7 am to 5 pm, M-F instead of what you can actually bring to the table. Definitely don't show up even 5 minutes late because big brother is watching the clock if you're not at your desk by 7 am. They would rather see good employees leave instead of trying to work with them on a flexible schedule or allow them to work remotely on occasion. They expect you to put in your 44+ minimum hours per week & are not open to anything different. They pride themselves on saying that they let people leave "early" on Friday at 4 pm, but you've still had to put in a full 8 hour day & they don't pay overtime for the minimum required 44+ hours per week. - This is a place where you better tow the line exactly as Colorado management wants - it's the egotistical management mentality of "my way or the highway." The environment is one where you cannot express your honest viewpoint - do so & you will be labeled as a trouble-maker. They have a very narrow viewpoint of what they think will work here & are not open to new ways of thinking. They do things with the mentality of "this is how we've always done it" instead of improving with the times. - It's very much a "sink or swim" environment - management does not set you up for success in any way. They will intentionally throw you to the wolves & see if you can make it. I've seen top management intentionally try to sabotage others if they don't like them. It's not a very positive work environment & is particularly hard on new grads/PEs coming out of school who've never worked in a professional setting before. - U.S. is known to pay low - the salaries are below market compared to what you can get elsewhere. They intentionally low ball people just to keep their overhead costs down. Bonuses are paltry if they even pay them. Benefits are just average - nothing spectacular. - Communication is minimal to nonexistent & staff are left to hear things through the rumor mill. Major changes are made within the company & they fail to communicate critical information which creates a culture of distrust - this is a recurring pattern with this company. When they do communicate, the top management in Colorado sabotages the message by saying that the Kansas City office is mandating certain things & they don't want to follow anything that the corporate office wants. - There's a lot of churn &burn in certain departments, particularly in Project Development & the CAD group. The management in these two areas is particularly bad so employees look to leave to get away from the negative environment. Construction Ops management is equally as bad - the top management creates chaos & divisiveness with passive aggressive tactics & politics-playing. They "seem" like nice people on the surface, but once you've worked here long enough you see things for how they really are. Overall, the management in the Rocky Mountain region is some of the worst I've ever seen. They don't even play nice within their own company - it's very much of an "us versus them" mentality. Instead of acting like one company, the Colorado management openly bad-mouths the company leadership & other management in the corporate office in Kansas City - there's a lot of visible animosity between Colorado top management & the KC office. They operate in silos & try to sabotage other groups just to make themselves look better. Overall, I do not recommend working at U.S (at least not in the Colorado office - can’t comment on KC office), mainly due to the lack of leadership & poor management in Colorado. There are better places to work where you can work in a positive, productive atmosphere. Was extremely happy to leave this negative work environment - was happy to get out when I did.
