Good Company but Not Perfect - Engineering Technician II Applied Materials Employee Review

4.0
Aug 5, 2023
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing benefits such as life insurance, short and long term disability, 401k match, stock discounts, generous PTO and Sick time (2 separate balances of hours to use) and if you like cutting edge it's interesting to learn about how microprocessors are built.

Cons

Promotion opportunities are infrequent and once you're in the company they only give you a 2% annual raise. You can promote "tiers" or "ranks" for a larger raise but they try to stifle financial growth as much as possible making job hopping seem a better option than company loyalty. I've seen people with less industry experience hire in at nearly 40% higher pay than someone who stuck with the company and tried to promote from within.

Explore other reviews about Applied Materials

5.0
Apr 15, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Friendliness Stock Purchase Benefits Culture Development

Cons

Hours Schedule Flexibility Relocation Salary

4.0
Jun 24, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good health insurance, pay is just enough to not quit, 4% 401k contribution gives 3% match, stock purchase program is 15% discount no annually. Work is hit and miss, sometimes your left to struggle and there very little support, other times things are planned out and well executed. This company promotes from within more often than not so there is a ladder to climb. The work is 12hr shifts which is good for long weekends, but if things are busy with lots of projects you will be asked to come in for overtime. 60hr weeks 2x a month is very common. You can say no, but it’s discouraged in a few ways 😉

Cons

Management is very hit and miss, for the last decade we’ve had the avg stay of a manger <1yr. If you have a good one, they get burnt out from unreasonable expectations, and if you have a bad one they’re so disconnected you get nothing out of it. As a whole, due to leadership being promoted from within they tend to be very resistant to making any changes to their system because it worked a decade ago. This industry moves rapidly, because it was the best a decade ago does not mean it’s the best today. The raise structure is silly. Every year they’ve changed to it to have more disconnect from you and the people who approve raises. Most managers claim they’re told how much each employee is getting from someone that the employee is never met, and then have to argue over how to distribute an additional 5% over the entire team. This means if you work as hard as you can, and really stand out from your peers, you can get an additional 2% for an annual raise and your manager will claim that the best possible.

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