20 Great Employers for New Grads
What do you think of the 20 Great Employers for New Grads? Do they offer the types of perks and opportunities you’re looking for? What should new grads look for in a first job? What employers would you recommend?
I have to warn new grads, DO NOT WORK FOR RANDSTAD. Actually since this list was published they have experienced nationwide layoffs! Up in the NE we also rarely took vacation days, and NEVER took lunch, of course it was offered in their benefits by law employeed do need a break, but it was politely “frowned upon” to actually take a day off or eat away from your desk ever..With 5 people stuffed in a tiny branch (aka ROOM) with no cubicles or offices, you try sneaking away for some fresh air or a breather-good luck. Their bonus structure is a complete joke. Anyone who has worked for other firms in the industry would know this. They do not reimburse their employees sufficiently for what you are putting in on a daily basis. There is No room for advancement and due to turnover they have 20 something year olds running branches because anyone with a brain or any seniority is long gone-which in turn would probably explain the layoffs and over 50% turnover in the Philadelphia region. If you believe in negative reinforcement or micro management, this is the place for you! And dont expect to get paid for it either! A Complete Joke of a company, and a joke of a region in the northeast. Apply to another competitor and you can be sure you’ll be walking away with a lot less stress and a lot more money for your efforts!
Working in Sales at CDW definitely does NOT rate inclusion in any list of “best” places to work. Individual sales quotas are often set at double the average sales per rep, and the few who exceed those high targets are exemplified as what everyone should be doing (even the newbies). The pressure and lack of fun were unbearable. I’m so glad I left.
I, too, have had an awesome experience at Northrop. All companies in the defense industry have good and bad contracts. But the difference at NG is that employees are free to apply to positions confidentially if you truly see something you are interested in. And you don’t have to have manager approval to do so which is the great thing. I was very unhappy in my role and when I talked to my manager, he supported my decision to move into a different direction.
The group I work with here in Herndon, VA constantly asks its “younger” employees to provide input on projects. In fact, a couple of the guys down the hall from me just graduated 2 years ago and they were asked to create a marketing campaign for recruiting other new graduates to the company. Their presentation was so remarkable that the entire company adopted it. I feel that you can really find what you are looking for here, especially as a twenty something, without the cut throat atmosphere you get at other places.
Electronic Arts filed for Bankruptcy. Not such a good company to work for afterall.
I read all the reviews, and found them interesting. Copied one for friend who is new graduate looking for great job, and this one would be what he is looking for.
Personally, I would love to see you do something similar for those of us in our 60s, who both financially need to work, and also would like to be able to move into something more personally gratifying. That is, companies who consider us sixties as still productive and effective employees.
Thank you.
You would have to be out of your mind to work for Intel. I have been with Intel for more than five years and make LESS than the day I started even though I am “rated” a top employee. They make salaried folks work in excess of 70 hours each week often on call 24 hours a day. The culture is like the military and in recent days they have moved to allow LESS telecommuting. Intel is doing all they can to cut costs by not paying people well (3.25% raise/yr) and letting them go. Oh and by the way everything at Intel is lifeless and grey.
As the article states, Teach for America is not for the faint of heart. My 2-year experience teaching with TFA was the hardest thing I will ever do. That said, it was incredibly rewarding and eye-opening. Though I am not still teaching in my TFA placement school, I am still a public school teacher and a firm believer in the TFA mission. TFA is not a job for someone who wants to be a teacher. It is a job for recent college graduates with a social conscience who want to provide opportunities for deserving children that the rest of our county has forgotten.
I have worked for PwC for over three years after working for a Global 100 previously. I have found there to be pros and cons, as with any job.
I can immediately refute the claims by some that we are extremely over worked. Of course, during the busy season for each group we put in over 40 hours per week, and there are always some horror stories (80 hours/week for 2 weeks as an extreme). During busy season, I will average around 55 hrs/week and during the other 8 or 9 months this is down to 40-45 hrs/week. The pay is outstanding, in my three years I have had raises of 10%, 12%, and 19% with bonuses ranging from $3000-$10000.
After two years the vacation is pretty great too, I have taken a few long weekends this year and still have over 4 full weeks of vacation.
Benefits are good, not great (only 25% match of 401k for example) but the pay makes up for it.
As for the work itself… while at times I have not been challenged fully, if consider that as a 20-something I am regularly exposed to CIOs, CFOs, and other executives this is an outstanding opportunity. I have been able to travel the entire US and some international destinations (currently am travelling about 20% of the time). Typically the people who leave the company are able to because of the bredth of experience and training that PwC has provided.
Whoever is saying you don’t get any vacation time at Randstad (Internal Agent Position) is severely misinformed about their benefits. I am literally looking at my vacation hours right now on a website that provides complete control over benefits, pay, re-location and many more options. I have worker here since January and already I am able to take almost two weeks of Paid Time Off. Please get your facts straight. Yes, this is a fast paced and sometimes stressful job. But live in reality people what job isn’t?!
Always surprised oil/energy companies never make these lists. The pay is nearly that of wall street with 20-40 hours less per week. Other than defense, it is the only other industrial sector that is truely vibrant in the US. Although both are cyclical, energy has proven to be MUCH more stable than defense in the last twenty years. Only major drawback is usually the location…other than calagary and california, you are likely going to live in a less than desireable place.
Like “Vic” I work for NG on the F35 program. His comments are 100% on target. Every day I go to work were I am told by my management what a great job we are doing,that we are shining star of the program, how much the customer is impressed by our work, and all the uplifting ra ra that would be said by a chearleader. I read great emails from our senior executives how we are wining contract after contract and how well our finiancial performace is with repsect to past results. How do they reward me for all of the great work we do ? They give us a paltry 3.8% pay raise and a steep increase in benefit premiums. This doesn’t include the other cost living expenses that have to pay. One day I expect to be called to a meeting where some senior program VIP will spend a lot time telling us what a great bunch of people we are, what a great job we did, how our customer really thinks the world of us, and then we are not needed anymore so we should go back upstairs and clean out our desks.
My advice to new hires to come to this company, get some training, experience ,skills, and move on to another company that will give meaningful raises and just alot lip service.
Tom
So you mention Rockwell and Northrup. What about Boeing? Boeing offers all employees 100% tuition reimbursement as well as all the time off that Rockwell gives employees. Plus their benefits packages are hard to match, and starting salaries are competitive. For young engineers, rotation programs allow you to transfer among groups and see various areas of the company. And while some programs are heavy with the more experienced engineers, there are places within the company that contain a majority of 20 somethings. Plus you have the oppurtunity of working for Boeing in many cities and in either Aerospace/Defense or Commercial. If you are unhappy in your current job, I have found that most managers are willing to help that change…either by getting you the work on that project you want or by helping to place you elsewhere. Boeing is a great company to work for: they take care of their employees and actively seek new growth.
With all of the great jobs and career opportunities out there today, I wish I was 20 something instead of 60 something.
PROGRESSIVE: I worked for Progressive for 2 1/2 years and I have to admit, they are a great stepping stone if you can stand the stress long enough. It is very true that they are constantly hiring fresh graduates because people are constantly quitting. We always joked about the “mass exodus” that each office seemed to have every 6-10 months when a number of employees got fed up and quit. When I quit, I had the second longest tenure of all the regular employees, and our office had about 20 at the time. 12 hour days are common and do not expect a lunch or break (those are taken on the road). The company does offer a fast track to the top if you’re motivated, but people with families need not apply. Most of the higher ups were either single, or they seemed to put more of an emphasis on work than family. I remember seeing emails and “diaries” from a regional boss that were written at 1am on a Tuesday night only a week or two after she gave birth! A co-worker of mine was asked to do an inspection on her way home to pick up her sick infant! This just gives you an understanding of the mindset there. A friend of mine, and also an ex-Progressive employee, had a great quote. He said “why work investment banker hours when you’re not getting paid investment banker money?” Live by those words if you are a Progressive employee, or are thinking about working there. Like I said earlier, it’s a great place to get your foot in the door until you realize that you could be getting paid the same, or more, somewhere else while actually having a 40 hour work week. And don’t listen to all the corporate sponsored “we’re great” blogs from Mayfield Village, OH. That’s the companies HQ and some of those blogs are from the exact same higher ups I was referring to earlier. They would rather defend Progressive than see their family so feel free to believe who you want.
Thanks for reading!
I worked for Randstad for 3 1/2 years. This is a good company for a college grad who is looking to move into a better paying sales or recruiting role in a year or two. Even though this is a good first step for a recent grad, I am surprised it made the top 20. Unfortunatly, too many decisions are left to local district level managers who are frequently absent from the local office causing them to make misguided decisions. There is also not a lot of room for growth unless you move geographically. Starting salaries and raises do not seem to align properly with experience and goals achieved. Eventually time put into the company outweighs what an employee gets back. Bonuses are based on group totals and there is no room for individual rewards. This provides a team environment but if an individual is exceeding goals, that person does not reap the rewards he or she would see in other sales roles at other companies. Randstad is essentially a sales company and compensation / bonuses to not stack up when weighed versus others. Based on the article stating that Gen Y is seeking opportunities with flexibility, free food, game consoles etc….Randstad would not be on the list at all. There is NO room for flexibility as this is a very regimented company that does not allow room for any ‘outside of the box’ thinking. As I stated, this is a good company for college grads to start with as it offers good classroom training and experience that affords opportunities for growth at OTHER companies. Benefits are ok as well. Turnover is high. I worked with one individual who was with the company 8 years, but in my 3 1/2 years I saw nearly 20 agents come and go in 2 small branches. Lastly, once a grad leaves Randstad to grow their career further, it is quickly obvious that this company is not all that it is cracked up to be.
EA is a great place to work - they really do treat their people well most of the time. However, where the company comes up short is in management and executive leadership. The majority of managers at EA have little to no business training at all, many are former engineers or artists. The execs at EA is inexperienced to lead the now large company. Larry Probst’s recent move is a sign of things to come. Don Mattrick’s departure was the beginning of what has recently been a dark period at EA. The company blames the sagging stock price on next-gen transition, but their execs and managers are the real problem behind the company’s woes. Unlike many game companies, EA is reactive, rather than proactive when it comes to innovation. Working at EA is great to start, but after a few years of extra hours and repeated problems in development cycles, you start to get wary and realize that some managers don’t know what they’re doing.
Progressive: I did not join PGR out of school, worked at 6 various employers in mult industries before joining. I’ve seen it all, and PGR is a unique company, Any company this large will have some people who hated it. The company rewards top performers, if your not getting a good raise - then take the hint. The company encourages people to move around to various departments to gain experience, it has very good career paths, a large training budget, it promotes from within, great offices(there are fitness centers at every major campus, if your in a field claims office with 40 employees then you won’t have this perk - although you could post for positions in one of the main campuses if its that important to you), it does fast track high performers, encourages creative thinking, and welcomes those who challenge conventional wisdom. The person who said PGR was not a growing company needs to understand this company better, volatility at PGR rest with the claims organization who has to ramp up claims capacity based on projects volumes, if for some reason we get less claims than anticipated and they view it as a sustainable trend - they will look hard at the claims staffing levels. Overall PGR is one of the top innovators in this industry, I’ve witness the grass is greener attitudes that some have — I’ve seen many try to rejoin the company after a stint somewhere else, if their performance was marginal they are not always welcomed back
I work for Northrop Grumman. It was my first “Real” job out of college and I’ve been her for seven years now. It is an amazing company with great benefits. With over 120,000 employees in all 50 states and over 25 International offices, you can work anywhere and do just about anything. I HIGHLY recommend working here! Graduates, this is the place for you!
I totally disagree with Ben and Simon about starting salaries-that is not what I experienced, nor was it what most of the people I worked with experienced. I was hired at a very competitive salary at Randstad, and have already received 2 bumps in salary in my first 14 months. And I can promise that I’m making more than $28,000!
“Employers were asked about salary, training programs, promotion opportunities, mentoring, competitiveness, vacation time, work-life balance, diversity, and other issues key to new grads.”
So, Fortune intereviewed employers, waitings for their responses, and then took them at their word? I see a lot of disagreement with the list above, and I have to ask: why didn’t you interview/survey employees? This list is quite surprising given reality, but not so surprising if actual employees weren’t talked with.
EA is not as bad as you think. After the settlement of the lawsuit, things changed a lot in EA. I am happy to see the some of the new IP in the pipeline. Sporn, Army of 2, crysis and sims city 5…
PwC is a great place to work. The company offers challenging work opportunities and incredible pay and benefits, especially after you make your first promotion. People are a huge priority at the firm and I have worked and learned from some very intelligent people over the past 4 years. I have developed many marketable skills, incredible relationships, and am respected by my peers and leadership. I enjoy the responsibility I have and the trust placed in me to deliver. It seems like there are limitless opportunities for growth. I recommend PwC to any graduate, accounting or IT, whether it be for a career or a just a few years.
I currently work at CDW as an Account Manager. Although it is a great company, CNN’s information is inaccurate. All of our starting salaries are $25,000 annually - we wish they started us out at $40,000!
PNNL I have worked for PNNL for two years now. My wife and I came here and have had a baby since then. They have been truly great to us. My wife worked for the college where I was in grad school, and the health insurance was truly terrible, even though it was on par with 90% of businesses these days. We got here and they have really taken care of us. Great insurance, benefits, time off, and people have bent over backwards to help us with our new baby. Paid time off, we paid $100 for the entire pregenancy and delivery. People we did not know donated vacation time to us. People I work with were bringing food to the house.
As for working here, well there are few national labs that can compete, really. Sure, some of them have a bigger name, but I have been nothing but impressed with the level and quality of work done here. I love coming to work, no one in my family has ever made such a claim, but it is true. I love getting to do physics all day.
I have worked odd jobs all my life. I have been in the military. I have had a few professional jobs too, before I went back to grad school. I can honestly say that I love working here. No matter where you work, I hope you can say the same.
I am doing an Accounting Internship at Progressive right now and it seems like a great company. Everyone is friendly and great team-players. The pay seems pretty good and overtime really isn’t required like in Accounting firms. I would recommend Progressive for a good place to work.
I work for Northrop Grumman out in LA particularly on the F35 program after I graduated 2+ years ago. I don’t know how it is on other programs, but the F35 program is poorly mismanaged (development plans, budget concerns, faulty decision making, etc). There is a high turnover rate among our youth, and our pay is abysmal when compared to other equivalent engineers in other programs. My managers are only worried about numbers, and the company we are subcontracted to are unaware of the complexities involved in developing s/w.
In addition, the baby boomers are currently running the show (still). The gap of ages is very high. You get a lot of incoming new graduates, but they turnover real quick. On the other hand, you see alot of people coming from DOTcom industries who have families and cannot live an unstable yet (IMO) rewarding lifestyle.
If you are a new motivated graduate that is not desiring to pursue an advance degree AND wants a rewarding experience other than “I helped make that little wire on the plane”, NG is NOT where you want to be.
On the other hand, if you are mid career and looking to settle down with a family, defense/aerospace is an OK place to be.
I’ve been with PGR 8 years starting right out of college. 8 years is a testament to the kind of company PGR is. There will always be something to complain about, but overall PGR provides good opportunities for growth and excellent work/life balance.
KeyBank has been a great company to work for. Yes, we have had a re-alignment in our business strategy that has seen us exit some lines of business, but they have taken care of their employees, I was one of them. After being let go with a generous separation package, I went back to school full time for a summer session to complete my degree. The bank hired me back within 6 months. They grandfathered all of my vacation and seniority when I was rehired. The bank continues to stress promoting from within and I feel they offer great opportunities for all their employees. Our CEO started as a teller in a branch years ago, that should tell you something about our culture.
i used to work for progressive. great place to get experience, but don’t make the mistake of staying longer than a couple of years. read the reviews on http://WWW.JOBVENT.COM and you’ll see what i mean. progressive treats their employees like TRASH. they are constantly hiring because people are constantly quitting. work environment is horrid. pay is well below industry standard. only reason they hire college grads is because they know you’ll work hard and be dedicated because you want to do well at your first job. they’ll turn you and burn you, and when you leave, they’ll hire another grad to take your spot. don’t be fooled!!!!!!!!!!!
I have worked for Progressive for over 10 years. It is a great place to work. Some of the bloggers simply have it wrong, for example,the person who says that vacation time has to be used for sick time. The fact is that in the past vacation and sick time were separate at Progressive. A decision was made to combine all of that time into a single bank called Earned Time Benefit. We didn’t lose the time, it is just no longer broken out into categories. Also, the art collection is represented at all Progressive sites, not just the large campus’. As for the fitness and health centers, of course they are not at every single site. Can you imagine the expense of providing a state of the art health and gym facility at a site with say 3 employees? That just wouldn’t make sense. Progressive has the same problems as every other large company, so some of the processes don’t make sense. We are constantly striving to put enough process in place to be consistent without hindering progress. It is not always an easy thing to do. For the person who blogged that comment, I would encourage you to be vocal and offer solutions. That is the Progressive Way. As for things that Progressive really needs to work on, compensating long time employees on par with new hires. They have taken some steps in some areas recently but this is still a big problem. Offering the same paid time off benefit for adoptive parents that they offer to mothers who have given birth.
Sprint offers a development program for new-grad hires?? They don’t even provide orientation for new hires that aren’t straight out of college. Free phone plans?? Some employees use competitor’s phones just to get reliable coverage with decent voice quality.
Company is losing so many employees through attrition and voluntary separation packages (VSPs) that some groups don’t have anyone left with the knowledge to do their department’s work. Middle/upper management have no understanding of how work gets done resulting in projects wasting resources with no significant revenue gains. Morale is extremely low and we’re STILL having internal fights between Sprint and Nextel people on basic process questions almost 2 yrs after the merger. So much back-stabbing and unethical behavior; employees just seem to be marking time until the next round of VSPs.
This company will teach new grads how to alienate employees, squander resources, run the company into the ground with out-of-touch senior management and incompetent/unethical middle management. New grads will definitely learn how not to run a major corporation.
Teach for America
I applied about 4 years ago and was rejected. I had a master’s degree in economics from a top-ten school and a history undergrad degree. I explained clearly in my application that I could teach history, economics or math. I estimated that my degree had given me the equivalent of a BS in math (real analysis, calculus III, linear algebra, advanced statistics and probability). In addition, I actually had university level tutoring and TA experience.
It is my opinion that the ridiculous screening process involved some social planner who prejudged economists as hard-hearted and not sympathetic to the less-priviledged students (which, of course is negated by my action of applying).
I have gone on to meet several teachers in the program including third tier college grads in psychology who teach math in HS! My only conclusion is that this is an agenda driven social-activist organization more interested in creating victims than teaching hard sciences such as math and physics.
I have moved on and make tons of money at a stable hedge fund…so, I guess their inflexible structure did me a favor. I just look back at that time and laugh.
SPRINT? RU Kidding me? There is no way I would recommend Sprint. Layoffs every 6 months. Bad Management decisions. The only telecom company that can’t get their act together and couldn’t even get on the government contract short list. If you have a “special” MBA from one of the annoited grad schools you can start off in the director program, otherwise get ready for bad bonuses and below average increases.
How about a TOP 20 LIST OF BAD EMPLOYERS FOR NEW GRADS?
assuming ligitation isn’t a factor.
Missed a really good one:
Wachovia Corp, Charlotte
RE: PwC (and the other three ‘Big Four’ 
All they care about is getting the cheapest labour for the least amount of money. They sell themselves with their big names and flashy branded freebies….but see past that and you won’t just become one of thousands….go to someone small where you can REALLY make your mark and get somewhere. Those promotions are only token…and keeps you there because of some lame-ass pay rise….
Randstad is a great company for the new grads; however the tenure of the average agent is only 16 months or less. Turnover is 75% largely due to the health benefits that are estimated to cost you upwards of 300+ each paycheck; and the poor pay. One agent in Waukesha (MW); who has been there just around 8 years only makes around 40k…The pay for the sales you do is not worth it and it is a “group” bonus; not individual bonus. If you overperform; but the branch does not; you lose.
I suprised I saw Citi bank that just laid of 15k of their staff and not Deutsche Bank which offers graduates a 1-2 month training program in London and a $60-70k salary with sign-in bonuses. 100% of the graduates are mentored and assigned a buddy.
You’ve got to be kidding me in selecting Electronic Arts as a top pick. They’re notorious in the silicon valley as a virtual sweatshop where they heavily overwork their employees and depend on new crops of fresh college graduates because they burn out in a couple years. That while it sounds nice in your article, they pay extremely low compared to comparable firms in the San Francisco bay area, (60k is at least 20k below what most of their employees could make fresh out of college if they weren’t blinded by the opportunity to work on games).
Get real and do some better research next time.
Good luck new grads, As a recently new grad myself I do work but all those companies listed are hard to get into unless your connected. You can have all the degrees in the world but if you are not connected you won’t get in.
PwC is a horrid company to work for. Actually, any Big 4 is horrid. They make you work horrible hours for very little pay. And to top it off, there is a cut-throat environment at these Big 4, especially PwC. Yeah, the new hire pay is good but look at their annual turnover! That is why they hire so many interns. They need replacements for all the people who are burned out and leave. I know, I’ve worked for 50% of the Big 4 with friends at the other 50%. The Big 4 try to give off an image of they have the best and brightest, but that is not true because the best and the brightest leave! They pay is horrible for how much you work. The poeple who who state its a great place to work are probably you’re Type A personalities who want to consume their life in their job. The rest of America wants to spend time with friends and family. Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of good people at the Big 4 but it doesn’t shift the fact that the Big 4 aren’t the best places to work. If I were a new graduate, I would go to a corporation and avoid any place that has a “Partner” at the highest levels. They majority only care about the how much goes back into their pocket. On another note, avoid their hype about all their work/life balance programs. These really aren’t implemented and there is no such thing as life. Its only work and a lot of it. Good luch new graduates and hope you make a wise decision.
I think its funny that companies hire new grads at 60,000 but if your a new grad at 48 you can forget it.
PWC? Not sure why they would choose them over all three other firms. Aren’t all Big 4 accounting firms pretty much the same in terms of benefits, compensation, etc? I mean the only real difference in the four companies is the office culture. I interviewed with all Big 5 (at the time) firms and decided on one that wasn’t PWC. I am just not sure why they choose PWC versus the other three that still remain. All tout flexibility, work about the same amount of hours, have relatively similiar salaries and benefits, so why not mention Big 4 in a whole?
As a former Intel Employee, Intel today is very different then it was 10 years ago. 10 years ago Intel would have been a great option for internships….now very few. I will say I have many many friends that were just laid off in Dec…the number is 10k…I would look instead to Microsoft where the overhead is smaller, margins are bigger and opportunities are still growing.
Sprint??? Seriously?? I have many friends and even a family member that have worked for Sprint over the years. Sure, you may get hired, but from that day on, you’ll constantly be on the edge of your seat waiting for another reorganization and round of layoffs. If you’re “lucky” enough to not be one of the thousands that get laid off at a time, you’ll get to experience a raise in your blood pressure and anxiety as you wait for the next round. In the meantime, you get to continue working with demoralized employees trying to do the best they can in a toxic environment created by incompetent executives that truly have no idea where they are going. And since they don’t know where they are going, they’ll hire a bunch more people, and then announce another stunning round of layoffs. And so the cycle begins again…
I worked for Stockamp for several years. They also missed their revenue targets by $25M last year. The people were great, the work was interesting, but everyone works about 80 hours a week (the flexible hours you mentioned should have included at least one day each weekend). If you are interested in the work Stockamp does, try a real consulting firm that does more than just one thing.
I work for HOVENSA in the US Virgin Islands and it’s great. They give you housing on a tropical island, where you work, for free. You get a very cheap deal for lunch everyday at the cafeteria, they have a 9-80 schedule, so that every other weekend is a 3 day weekend. You get great benefits, awesome people to work with, and awesome pay too. I’m definitely in the top 10% of college grad salaries. HOVENSA is an awesome company. (Joint venture between AMERADA HESS and PDVSA)
You got to be kidding about EA! In the industry they are notorious for grinding their talent into the dust. Also, I’ve known people and whole teams fired and then asked to come back later just to boost their end of quarter stock price.
And $60k starting salary? Pffft! I don’t know where they get that figure from unless it’s a senior programming position.
Stay away from this poison.
The fact that PwC promotes within 3 years is a definite plus. While the other big 4 may promote within two years I have spoken to many of my peers working with these firms and many do not have the technical expertise or the self confidence to perform at the next level. I believe that PwC only promotes those that deserve to work at that level and spends an extensive amount of time reviewing each employees file in order to properly evaluate who gets promoted. I don’t believe that there methodology is perfect but I think it does a pretty good job of ensuring that their people are ready for promotion before a new title and new set of responsibilities is given to them.
Am I surprised to see Stockamp & Associates, Inc. as a representative great company for new graduates to work for? Well, no I’m not.
New Field Associates typically get the following: travel to great cities across America on 10-12 month projects living in apartments or an option to live in the city they work with a choice of large cities as your core living location; work for amazing hospitals and people across all walks of life and impact communities through service projects across the country; work with really outgoing/motivated coworkers who like to do succeed while getting a decent compensation package and building a career; work for a firm that practices what it preaches – integrity, respecting the individual and seeking to understand; work for a firm that is largely contingent upon the success of the various engagements – in other words, the company only makes money if project meets/exceeds expectations; have responsibility that is supervised and measured by very experienced management and experts in the industry; work for management that cares about people and is constantly developing ways to better manage work/life balance and find careers for people in addition to checking itself for improvement areas with surveys and measured growth plans; have lots of fun and build lasting friendships with coworkers in the process!
It’s truly an amazing place that thrives on developing the latest and greatest with regards to tools and process changes. Check out our website for the latest endorsements from fine institutions. There’s a lot in store for Stockamp. Trust me. I chose Stockamp. I get to work for Stockamp.
Regarding experiences with engagements, we’ve got plenty of statements from the most respected industry leaders as to the quality of the engagements, associates and lasting results. We deliver benefits to hospitals and health systems that allow them to provide better access to healthcare, a more efficient and organized experience and ultimately the ability to serve the communities in the country that are at the hearts of the greatest nation in the world.
I have been working for Stockamp for 9 months and was hired straight out of college. I have had so many amazing experiences in my short time, and feel that I am rewarded well through both salary and benefits. The work is exciting and incredibly challenging (especially for young consultant who must overcomes obstacles such as being stereotyped as being “snot nosed kids”). Fortunately, Stockamp trains us thoroughly with the tools we need to embrace these challenges and be successful–just look at the our client list of 100+ companies that also serves as our reference list. Additionally The amount of client interaction we get is unparalleled to other consulting firms for first year associates.
I could not be happier in my job and I have nothing but praise for the recruiters and the recruiting process.
I currently work for PwC and have for two years. I started working here straight after college. I could not be happier with my choice. I have read most of the blogs on this site regarding PwC and have to address some concerns that I had with them. First off, PwC does not hire everyone that interns with the firm. I went through my internship with a large group of interns in the Internal Audit Group (45+) of those 45+ six did not get an offer. While this number is low you have to consider the fact that tehy have all gone through the interview process and the “bad apples” have been weeded out. Next, PwC has consistently been voted on eof the top 100 companies to work for. Extensive research goes into compiling these lists and they consider such things as vacation time, sick time, compensation, and work environment. I can say from personal experience that PwC is a great company to work for. I have a good work life balance and do not devote 100 percent of my time to work. As with anything the negative people that had a bad experience are usually the ones to voice their opinions, I just thought you guys should hear it from both sides. I am not saying that it is not possible to have a bad experience with PwC. However, the great thing about this firm is if you have a bad experience there is an unlimited amount of other opportunities within the firm.
I can’t believe that Google was not featured…
I work at Northrop Grumman in Oklahoma City and they have just eliminated our flex schedules.
12 vacations days to start. Vacation days do not increase until your 15th year on the job.
Mentors have only been assigned to 5% of new hires.
Everyone has at least three different managers giving them taskings.
It is very much like ‘Office Space’
Shouldn’t be on the top 20.
I have worked for Randstad for over 14 years. We have ” excellent internal benefits for new employees and yes we love to have “fresh college grads” as they have lots of energy and excitement. We are a company that has been founded on the principal of “know, serve and trust”….we have high standards and those that can make it and are a good fit will do very well! I know I do! External Talent unfortunately are not benefited as well however, it is definitely top of the line for staffing services.
I agree that L’Oreal Is a great company for new graduates. However we need to be clear is a company to start not to develop your career in the US. You have to really negotiate your salary @ the beginning because after you are in you are done. Average of 2.5% each year. Too much of a Turn round on new hire .There development program needs mayor improvement they need be more flexible w. new mothers and try telecommuting . For some reason we like to say that they are 2 to 5 years begging everybody else. As soon as the new graduates realize that they are working for the biggest cosmetic company in the work (= workload) however every year they can’t even match the nation inflation factor they move on. The more experience employees are pass for promotions unless you are connected w. the proper people. Some of them are just hopping for the best. Keep Hopping.
GOOD LUCK NEW GRADUATES REMEMBER THE TIP @ DAY ZERO. You will enjoy your average 2 year tour on this company.
I work at Rockwell Collins and I was surprised that Collins was not on the list sooner. Great place to work if you are an airplane nut. I am being offered re-imbursement for both my flight training and MBA….which speaks volumes about the perks the company offers…and the reputation of the company in aerospace is pretty good..I couldn’t have asked for a better manager and even the VPs, directors and CEO will give you personal career advise if you ask for it…beat that !
Highly recommended….cedar rapids is not the most appealing city but its not bad if u r looking for something quiet and clean..well u cant win ‘em all
Someone did NOT do the research on Stockamp consultants. Check out their website. It is a cult not a business. Having to work with these snot nose brats is painful. Consultants are to be open and have fresh ideas. If you don’t follow their agenda to the tee they have no ideas. Since they are children they do what children do: Tattle to upper management if you make suggestions. I would not work with these people again!!!!
I dont know about Sprint being a great “new grad” job. Unless you want to be newly laid off. It doesn’t pay..
Well I may be biased because I will be interning with Pricewaterhousecoopers this summer, but listening to my peers who have interned with other big four accounting firms, I must say that the ones who come back from PwC come back to campus with the most excitement.
I am continually amazed that CDW ranks as high as it does in the ‘best companies to work for’. I spent 8 months working in CDW’s small business division in the Eatontown, NJ sales floor. I recently left for only one reason, and that was the extremely low pay. The job itself was not bad. However, I am not a fresh college grad, and had to leave because the take home pay barely equaled my monthly mortgage. I only have a small cape code house on a 1/4 acre plot of land. The base salary is low and the commission plan is such a joke that almost all of my co-workers became disheartened within a few months of hitting the sales floor, even the young college grads. The closest competitor’s base starts at $15K higher then CDW’s base. (I know…as they contacted me about applying for the equal position in their company.) As soon as the job market came up and jobs became available, people began to leave like rats leaving a sinking ship. We we’re told that they were looking into improving the pay structure, but that nothing would be done until 2008. Most of us simply couldn’t wait that long, as the bills keep coming in.
Sales people understand money and percentages. Knowing how much you are earning for your company, and looking at just how small of a cut you are getting is very discouraging. Literally, you could make more money in a month by selling Manufacturer Spiffed items then in actual commission. They have a high attrition rate in the small business division (at least in NJ) and churn through people quickly, always having another training class going, ready to replace those that leave. They higher a lot of young college grads who are still living at home with their parents, because to them its more money then they have ever made. If you are a home owner, or have a family, you had better have a mate that can support you if you intend to apply. On the bright side, not everything about the job is bad, if you can afford to work for peanuts for 3-4 years until you ramp up to the Medium Large division, you can eventually start to make enough money to live on, even do quite well if you are in the top 10%. The training is excellent, and the exposure to the IT industry is priceless. If you look at it as a first job, and a stepping stone to a future in IT sales elsewhere, it may be worth it.
I work at Northrop Grumman in Pascagoula and they have been very good to me. Good benefits, salary, vacation, and people. The baby boomers are finally retiring and they’re hiring us to replace them. But we better learn everything fast; it seems like employees are either very old or very young.
PS: The reason why you all are working is to comfortably enjoy your life, not the other way around. Jobs can be many different things, but at the end of the day, it’s still just a job. What’s more important is the life you’ve created from having that job.
Pacific Northwest National Labs as a top place to work for grads? They must be trying to recruit some ‘new blood’… I imagine the already small town has gotten smaller since they imploded the nuclear power plant that was there. (literally). Can’t imagine there’s a bustling night life for 20-somethings!
Intel should not be on this list. If you will check Intel on Google, you will quickly find that Intel is firing Americans and sending their jobs to India. Intel admits this freely. If you take a job with Intel, you are at risk for having your job sent to India, no matter how hard you work or how talented you are. Indian employees are paid less, therefore you are screwed. It would be insane to work for Intel. If you are really good, you deserve more money, so they have a greater motivation to fire you and send your job to India.
I worked for Hyatt during my first four years after college. I wasn’t in the corporate management trainee program but started as a line employee. After the first year, I moved into management. Over all, the pay wasn’t that great and the hours were long and hard — and of course, included nights, weekends, and holidays. However, five years after leaving Hyatt (because I was just worn out!), I have great memories, met some wonderful guests, managers, and coworkers, and learned so much. At a young age, I had a lot of authority and respect and was exposed to some amazing (albeit often extremely tough) experiences. As a manager in the rooms division, I had wonderful mentors in my department and division heads as well as human resources. I so appreciate what they thought me, formally and informally. It’s probably the case for most hospitality companies, but it was also a fun, young culture at Hyatt. Expect to work hard, work long & crazy hours, have some tough situations with guests and employees…it’s no cake walk! But in the end, for a first job, Hyatt is a great place. You can stay on and move up or transfer the skills you learn and perfect to other companies.
PWC may hire 4,000 grads yearly at excellent pay, but you should ask how many are underused and eventually laid off. Mentoring, in many cases, does not exist. A mentor is, in fact assigned, but does not necessarily work with the new hire as needed. Concerns about lack of assignments are not addressed, and it is considered bad form to take concerns directly to Human Resources.
On a positive note, the training program is outstanding. However, that very expensive training is wasted on many of the new hires who are never properly used. It almost seems that PWC overhires - to what end, I’m not sure.
I interned with PwC last summer, and received a full offer. They certainly did not extend a full-time offer to all of their interns. There were about 12 interns at my office, and I know that one of us left unhappy.
PwC hires the best of the best, and my seniors and managers were both technically savvy and easy to get along with. The opportunities for training, advancement, and working abroad are excellent (and the pay ain’t bad either).
I think there is quite a bit of confusion regarding Randstad, and whether they deserve to be on this list. As an Internal Employee, my benefits are top notch, I have a full 18 days PTO (as well as 6 company recognized holidays) a VERY competitive salary, excellent training, and Tuition reimbursement. To those who have never “received” any of these above mentioned benefits, as yourself the question, “Are you an agent, or a talent”. Chances are, you are the latter (but still remain thankful, as many work solutions providers do not offer medical benefits, 401K matching or PTO to the external talent-Randstad does, after 1000 hours.)
I worked for Key Bank. They hired me in October of 2006 and let me go in February 2007 when they sold Champion Mortgage.
They knew Champion was being sold and allowed for me to be hired (I am assuming they knew my entire department was going to be eliminated). Yet they still allowed me to be hired. And I wasn’t mad that I was let go, I knew the company was being sold and I took a calculated risk that now has benefitted me but the entire process was just a mess. They kept losing all my seperation papers. In between me receiving my soft notice they were going to let me go, I broke my right foot. The corporate nurses of Key Bank kept pushing for me to get back into work when I clearly was unable to drive. And when I did come back to work, my manager could have easily just let me stop working early being I only had 20 days left on the job but instead they kept me on and we did no work. So they were paying me to sit at my desk and do nothing. I would never recommend them.
Randstad is a great place to work and they reward thier employees if they work for it. Yes our company does set the bar high in terms of goals and growth, but this is why our company is so successful. I have been with Randstad for approx. four years now and I have NEVER been at a better staffing agency. We are ranked #3 in the World, and we didn’t get here by setting easily attainable goals. Truth be told, we work, and we work hard, but we play hard too. Most of us are not here for the bonus, but for the opportunity to grow as a professional and grow through out the company. If you are looking for an opporunity to be molded and make a difference in your community, then Randstad is for you. We put thousands of people to work every year which attributes to the success of companies and the progression of the communities we serve. We make a difference, because the difference is US!
Progressive is always hiring because of their constant turnover. Of course they are looking for new grads, they are looking to pay below industry standard and looking for employees who are to green to realize there are better jobs out there with better pay, and a good work environment.
I’ve worked for Stockamp since graduating in 2004, and I can’t imagine a better first job. There is some room for corporate improvement with respect to retention, but only because Stockamp hires are so well qualified and professionally developed that they’re often grad-school bound or hired away by other management consulting firms.
I’d recommend to any new grad looking to balance competitive salary (~$50K), corporate responsibility, and admirable core values.
Teach for America? As you even state- they take the most inexperienced teachers and place them in the HARDEST schools…seems like a recipe for failure. Their own stats on their success rate (check out their website) are all self-reported from teachers and due to the pressure to excel in the classroom and “move” your students, I can only presume that many of these self-reported stats are greatly inflated. The lady who started it, Wendy Kopp, has not even taught a day in her life yet she is the nationally renowned expert on how to change public education? As a former Teach for America teacher, I cannot support your decision to put this is as a top job for graduates.
Progressive is rightfully on the list. I started here a little over a year ago and it’s been a wonderful place to work. The onsite fitness center is great and it’s nice to have “Quiet Rooms” where we can go and just relax for a few if we need it.
I have worked for Hyatt for 18 years and can honestly say that I could not have asked for a better environment for my professional career. What I have found is that the company provides an environment in which passionate, proactive and determined individuals may succeed by applying just these traits themselves with very little to no practical experience in most aspects of the industry. Where else can you find the senior management, at any given hotel, who started as restaurant greeters, housekeepers, accounting clerks, front desk agents, food servers and is led by the General Manager who started as a dishwasher? Respect, dignity and trust are the very roots of our relationships with our guests but, even more importantly, with each other.
Data for Lehman Bros does not included bonuses for Investment Banking Analysts. Like other top investment banks such as Goldman Sachs or Morgan Stanley, the bonuses this year are likely to top $50,000 for first year analysts fresh out of college. The workload can top 100 hours per week though, greatly diminishing the appeal of the six figure salary.
I work at intel as well and like the training and opportunity to have a place at the table with senior players early in career (in finance role). Good benefits as well. To the comment on reductions, new college hires were not impacted, at least i’m not aware of any.
I have to disagree with the choice of Stockamp. I met with them at a school career fair and turned over my resume to two people whose names I learned at the time. A third person interviewed me the next day and was so rude to students that our career services department demanded an apology from her. While apologizing, the interviewer mentioned I hadn’t bothered to stop by their table at career fair and was speechless when I stated the names of the two people I had met there and to whom I had given my resume. If that’s the best employer out there for new grads, we new grads are in sad shape.
I am surprised that you don’t have Medtronic on your list of 20 great companies for new grads. They are currently the market leader in the medical device industry.
Alex is right about PwC. They hire lots of people because they lose lots of people to burnout. While I’ve heard some good stories about PwC, it comes from people who pretty much love giving their life over to their work. I’ve also heard from many employees (current and ex) that it’s extremely cut throat (which will happen when you’re fighting against 2,100 peers for a promotion), and again, the lack of work-life balance. I don’t care what an accounting firm says about work-life balance - it just plain doesn’t exist (hence why I’ve gotten out of public accounting).
I wasn’t at all shocked to see PwC on the list - they’ll do anything to get their name in lights. They tout every little silly benefit or program to show what a fantastic company they are to work for.
A pointer for any grads reading about these 20 companies - while this is a nice guide, the employers filled out the surveys, NOT employees, so the HR folks will tend to beef up the benny’s to make themselves look good. Just make sure you weigh your options carefully - and go with your gut!
Hey, I like the sound of Federal government jobs. I used to work in various federal jobs during summers at school and it was nice, but I was stupid enough to believe private was the way to go. Dumb idea. Now, all private is outsourcing, or, to give it a more “friendly” sound, offshoring, and I’ve got big reservations about how that works, having seen the piss poor job these unskilled glorified temp workers do.
When I was working Federal jobs in the summer, I got to work in different cities that I wanted to try living in, in National Parks, etc.
How can one apply for a Federal job now? I’d go back to them in a minute.
I can’t believe how much these young punks are making these days. I wonder what the average starting salaries are at companies not on the list? I started at $22,500 in 1999 as an Assistant Account Executive for a large ad agency.
Inside Intel? Haven’t they layed off 4000 + employees over the last 12 months, with a recent announcement of another 1000 at the big New Mexico manufacturing site? Sure, they love New College Grads, because work 10-12 hours a day with no complaints…
It’s great to see Stockamp & Associates in the listing of the Top 20 Great Employers for New Grads. The list is comprised of some very impressive companies, but I do not believe any offers a more rewarding experience for their employees than Stockamp (even if there are only about 400 of us who are fortunate enough to realize this on a daily basis).
One unique aspect of Stockamp is that through the recruiting process, you feel a sense of openness and honesty regarding the type of role you will assume, and there are no secrets as to what you will experience if hired. There is no formal wining and dining like I experienced with some of the large consulting firms during my career search. Rather, you will find genuine, honest people who want to make sure you are a good fit and will succeed in your career with the company.
As a new associate, you are exposed to a great deal of client interaction and given immediate, tangible responsibilities that allow you to grow your personal and professional skill set in an accelerated fashion.
To know you are truly making a difference for the hospitals you work for, and the communities they serve, is the icing on the cake to a job that has been rewarding and exciting from Day 1.
Progressive well well being a progressive employee all I can say is its not realyl a great company to work for. trust me the only reason people are staying if at all they are staying because there is no other good and so called “secure job provider” here in cleveland. they pay very very meagre. as a matter of fact the median salary according to the publicly availble info is meagre 32000 well the rest is up to your imagination. they woo you with the gainsharing and well most of the times gainsharing is at the best worst. so you dont even get a fair market salary at the end of the day. too bad. benefits are ok. working from home is a crime. people are so narrow minded and hung upon processes and their implementation. someone above said was right they burn you out and take some fresh sheep inside to burn then out as well, overall i would stay away from progressive if you are not in a desperate need for a job like me…i am here for my own reasons..i will move on eventually…..good luck anyone…
The fact that PwC promotes after three years is not a plus. All the other big three firms promote in 2 years. I agree that the fact that they offered full time jobs to all the interns is not a good thing. I am sure all 2100 were not the best candiates for full time hire. If Pwc wants to retain employees, it it should reconsider its promotion track.
I joined Stockamp & Associates straight out of college and have been with them for 4 years now. I was pleased to see the highlights in the feature related to experience, balance, and growth. One thing unmentioned is the unique culture. The company is so full of ambitious, outgoing, and fun people….unlike any major company I’ve ever seen.
Stockamp gave me an unparalled amount of responsibility right out of the gate, solid training, and career progression. Stockamp places value on their employees – For example, when my life demanded a bit less travel and I wanted a different experience, a position in our Training Department was open and I was able to successfully transition into that role.
Anyone who joins us will be sure to have an amazing experience.
I graduated last year and hired at Northrop Grumman in Fl. I just enrolled in my third graduate class that NGC - pays plus books. Pay is mainstream, but benefits are the bait & hook. If you excel in team skills - you have a good chance of excelling with this billion $ co.
I graduated about 4 years ago, I have applied about 1000 to 2000 jobs nationwide, but I haven’t find yet my dream job, meaning good income and good benefit. I don’t know if the college degree mean something today, I regret spend 45 thousand on school. The job i have been doing only require high school diploma.
Thanks.
I was a Northrop Grumman new hire 5 years ago. At a company that they had bought out. The problem that I found with NG is that the company itself as not that cohesive; I found myself working on a contract that was directly competing against another branch within. Talk about internal competition… Of course, what can you expect when it got its big growth spurt by purchasing other companies? The other problem with working at a defense contractor is that there aren’t too many young people, 50% of the people have kids older than you, and 75% of them have already given up on life and are waiting for their pension.
Work for the government instead. Better benefits, less pay, but a hell less amount of so-called work. Plus you get all those great federal holidays off, something that will not happen at NG, or any other defense contractor. Also, if you’re a bright-eyed, bushy tailed new college grad who wants to make big change, this is not to place to do it in anything under 20 years. You’ll be lucky if your contract hasn’t gotten cut before then.
Ummmm…hello? What about McDonalds? They offer flexible hours, a restaurant onsite, AND clean bathrooms (if you clean them, of course). Instead of advancing, you get hat pins instead!! I LOVE hat pins!! There, you will learn button pushing skills, plastic bag opening skills, stainless steel cleaning skills, sandwhich wrapping skills…and where else will you ever get to use the special fry-scooping apparatus? Huh? Well…maybe at Carles Jr., Burger King, or Jack in the Crack…but you WILL get to use it!! McDonalds let’s you be a free-thinker too. I mean, when someone asks for “extra pickles”, you get to decide if you want to put one extra pickle or 47 extra pickles. Now THAT is job satisfaction… Rockwell, my butt…McDonalds is the future of employment…
What about Toys R’ Us? I mean, they sell Boobahs. What job is complete without an aisle dedicated to freaky little Boobahs? Can you get a stuffed Dingo eating a stuffed baby for $29.95 at Qualcomm? I think not!! What about at Rockwell…or Intel? Nope…you can’t. I am completely disappointed that Toys R’ Us was omitted from this list. It is a travesty…
Randstad really strives to hire the “Best People”!! It has been an excellent company to work for as an “INTERNAL EMPLOYEE” right out of college. Even though the industry can be difficult. Randstad works hard to provide an enjoyable work environment. The company has exceeded any expectation that I set when I entered the work force after college. We really have an incredible management team from the local leaders all the way to the global team.
How do you expect a staffing company to earn profit if they were paying vacation and holiday time to each talent who has been on an assignment for two weeks? Randstad has implemented service bonus for all external talent who have reach so many hours while on assignment.
GO BLUE!!!
To add to the comments for the Federal Gov’t listed below:
A commissioned Officer in any of the military branches can be a good career choice. I know many people will balk at this idea, given the current war(s), however the pay is comparable with what you do and your skill level, advancement works if you work hard, and the benefits including retirement are very tough to beat. I’ve deployed to Iraq and even given that, the numbers (benefits) don’t lie.
I worked for Randstad for a year right out of college. You had to accrue your vacation time, you weren’t just given the PTO after 90 days. However, that is not so terrible as many companies do this. Their benefits were mediocre, and they worked their agents to the bone. The bonus structure (ie. employee budgets and goals vs the payout for obtaining those goals) was very unrealistic. After I left, the bonus potential (ie amount you could earn) was cut in half, causing many people to leave abruptly. The reason they are on this list is because they actively seek out entry level grads. They want people right out of school so they can train them their way (they actually have pretty good training programs, I will give them that) and then churn and burn them. My manager never wanted to interview anyone with more than 1 year of experience. The agent role is not one for experienced recruiters, especially since most companies offer commissions whereas Randstad has a bonus plan.
RE: Progresive - My suggestion to new grads would be to check out jobvent.com. I love the part where they say they hired over 400 new grads but what they didn’t say was that they also let go around 400 people company wide. This is not a growing company. And for the health clubs, dr, art, etc - that only exsits in a few large offices company wide.
The Federal Govt is a great place to work, for new grads.
Consider:
1. pension
2. training
3. unlmited geographical locations
4. good starting pay and quickly receive raises
5. no layoffs
6. no pressure to make a profit
7. meet other young people
8. easy to transfer around to different agencies
9. if you don’t like it, after a couple of years you can use your training to go work for a contractor.
10. flexible work schedule and work-from-home
11. pays for your post gradaute degree (as long as it’s related to your current job)
I’m 28 and worked for Intel in Rio Rancho, NM; Portland, OR; and Santa Clara, CA for about 4 years after college. I’ll tell you that the benefits are great but if you support manufacturing for them, be prepared to have no life. After 80 hour weeks and phone calls at 3 am regularly, i said forget it. I learned a ton but they chew you up and spit you out. Now, finance or accounting? Go for it because it is a great place to work.
When was a new grad I worked for Progressive and quit after 2 years. Right on target according to their HR department. They churn through young people and burn them out quickly. That is why they are always hiring new people, the company is NOT growing. And the onsite art and health clubs etc… are only at a few of the very big offices. If you are in most palces it’s a small cube farm and not much else.
Regarding the Intel comment:
I’ve been with Intel for 10 years. Any layoffs are done as per business needs, not seniority. Just being new does not automatically put your head on the chopping block.
While the cost of living in Silicon Valley is very high, we are also a major employer in the Portland and Phoenix areas. Both of these places offer a reasonable cost of living and good quality of life.
I think that some of these posters are confused. Some of the posts talk about Randstad making vacation “impossible” to get when you work for them. The phrase work for them is probably misleading because it is very tough to earn vacation time when you are a talent(Randstad term for temp) that is working through Randstad. Randstad’s internal employees, agents etc. however do earn 18 days PTO a year. You do have to earn that time but corporate policy seems to be that you can use a resonable amount of this time before you earn it. With the assumption that you will earn it. Actually I believe you can roll over 80 hours to the next year giving up to 28 days off in your second year. As far as the health care package goes again I think the person with the complaint is an external talent and not an internal employee. The package offered to talent is completely different then what is offered to the internal employees. Hope that clears up some miscommunication
I’m an engineer for Northrop Grumman in the LA area and they’re pretty good. There’s bellyaching at all (big) companies I’m sure; we wouldn’t be at work if they didn’t pay us! But, overall, you get to see cool stuff and since a large percentage of the defense workforce is aging (very little hiring in the 1990’s), you get a lot of responsibility quickly because the people who have been here a long time are retiring. The benefits are fine, the pay is decent, and we just went to a 9/80 schedule, so we get every other Friday off. I don’t get the feeling that I’m being “bent over” at every turn. Overall, thumbs up for my first job out of college after 3 years here.
I work for Randstad and the benefits are horrible. They do not deserve to be on this list, I wonder who they paid. I have a schlock health plan that has screwed me over at every turn and I don’t get any paid time off, only a service bonus after 1800 hours, which expires at the end of the year if the hours quota is not met. Do the math, that makes it nearly impossible to get the bonus. The only good thing is they placed me at a decent company. But if I had it to do over again, I would have steered clear.
I was part of a small company that was acquired by RC in 2002. They destroyed the company. After four years, RC managed to cut our sales by 60% and doubled our overhead. They completed their “magic” this summer….closed the plant and moved the renderings to Dallas. If you love processes on top of processes, you’ll love RC. It reminded of a cult, where blindly “drinking the illogical Kool-Aid” was the most valued attribute. Stay away from that place. A horror for engineers.
I’ve heard that most accounting firms, like PriceWaterhouse, are good companies for recent grads. I wasn’t surprised with most of the other ones, like Microsoft, but I would have thought Google would be a choice too.
Regarding the comment above about EA having a terrible reputation as a game developer- that is just not the case as far as I am concerned… what people fail to know or mention is that every single EA studio has at least one brand new IP title in development… most studios have several. EA has never had such a concerted effort to develop new IP and for myself, as a recent grad that was hired out of school last year, this is one thing that is exciting to me and I know from meeting some of our latest new grads that it’s what is exciting to them as well. And on top of that, the days of the whole spouse issue are long gone… every studio has made a significant change in how games are being developed and the working hours for them… sure there is still crunch, but that’s no different than any other game developer, and the demands are totally reasonable now according to those on my team who have been here much longer than me.
I’m a client service partner and have been with PwC for 21 years, so I guess I don’t qualify as a recent grad. However, I’ve worked previously for a major automobile manufacturer and major aerospace & defense firm. In my view, Pwc is the best place to work. The learning experience and opportunities are limited only by one’s own passion for client service and innovative problem solving. Work/life balance is attainable and I’ve helped new grads get there with an organized approach, adequate communication, and support from superiors. I’ve mentored a vast number of new grads and as you can imagine some are superstars, some are very capable, some are solid contributors, while others may need to better match their skills and interests elsewhere. Nonetheless, all get tremendous training, access to top client management, challenged by complex business issues, recognition for their acheivements, multiple career paths, a quality peer environment, and highly competitive compensation and benefits. Can a new grad focused in the accounting, finance, IT or operations areas do better somewhere else? Maybe, but I don’t think so. In fact, our turnover is less than 15% and our diversity is highly regarded. Indeed, we are very selective and hire the best; and getting an internship provides an inside track. Not all experiences will be as good as mine and some may be even better. It’s up to you.