Applied Materials

A 30-minute paid breakfast is nice. The environment is air-conditioned, and management doesn’t overly micromanage for the most part. There are lots of opportunities for overtime.

Your prospects at Applied Materials are good if you have a lot of energy and don’t mind working six days a week.

It’s a cool group of people to work with. It’s an interesting mix of blue- and white-collar workers, a very inclusive environment, and it’s relatively easy to request time off.

Hours are long and management mismanages work centers. Tools need serious upgrading, and they refuse to buy tools needed for the work. Space is a huge constraint in the work centers, and there isn’t much good documentation on how to properly build systems. The job gets boring after a little while and becomes unstimulating. A clear path to improvement and performance reviews for contract workers would seriously turn this company around. Pay isn’t terrible but isn’t very good for how much you work. Nepotism is pretty rampant, and management likes to give regular full-time roles (direct hire) to family members and friends.

Performance reviews for contract workers and the opportunity for raises for contract workers would lead to more retainment and a smarter, more efficient team. This is a good environment, but it still has some toxic elements. People feel burned out and become bitter. A clear path for improvement should be there for people who want to do better, but it's not always present.