It used to be a great company to work for. - Engineer Applied Materials Employee Review

3.0
Apr 28, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The freedom to take care of issues I deemed that needed to be improved upon. The ability to Telecommute once every one or two weeks. The ease of being able to talk to all levels of management.

Cons

The cyclical nature of the industry leads to a very stressful life at AMAT. Way too many layoffs while holding onto a huge amount of cash on hand which was meant to "get the company through rough times". The cash reserves seemed to never get touched. Even during periods of layoffs (3-6 layoffs every two years), cash was added to the reserves. Management had their "favorite sons" which could do no wrong and were given all the "fun" assignments. Employees were frequently "pigeon holed" in positions they were good at even if they were not happy there. Work that nobody wanted to do was usually pushed completely onto one person.

Explore other reviews about Applied Materials

5.0
Feb 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Amazing benefits. Lots of opportunities for growth across different BU.

Cons

Demanding. But that is very common in the semiconductor industry

2.0
Apr 8, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Salary, I was compensated very well, the I hated working there so much that I resigned without anything even lined up. It was a good move for my mental health.

Cons

The leadership in general are not very intelligent, disorganized, and uncommunicative. They were decades behind in certain areas that lead to massive inefficiencies and overwork. (Out of respect I will not be specific). I suggested an improvement that would have taken task time down from 8 hours to virtually real time, but the executive Team, in their arrogance, did not allow me to implement the system. Sometime later, the cumbersome, unreliable system was not working and a deadline approaching. I worked 20 hours per day for 7 days and built an entire real time reporting system - then resigned. No one at AMAT was ever helpful. It always seemed an inconvenience to give a colleague outside ones group the time of day. I gained absolutely ZERO new skills or professional development at AMAT all my time there. Many of the employees at the time, including senior management, felt free to publicly express invectives against the current POTUS in their suffering TDS. Another reason I could not work in the environment. Rules for thee and not for me.

2
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