Poor Work Environment - Engineering Test Technician II Applied Materials Employee Review

2.0
Aug 21, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Troubleshooting experience gained Benefits and health insurance Co-workers

Cons

-Constantly moved around to different chambers which eliminates the possibility of meaningful progress, and creates confusing workflow -Constant schedule changes, sometimes within a half of a shifts notice. Unable to make personal plans due to the inconsistencies in scheduling. At one point they staggered days off, which meant less experienced techs on the floor in the middle of the week -EXTREME disconnect between pay rate and experience/performance. New technicians coming in making more way more than seasoned technicians with 5/10/15/20 years of experience -Management seemed to care more about the number of chambers getting out the door rather than technicians making quality decisions (i.e. Lead would sign into bay and sign off out of spec results that would cost customer hours of down time to correct when in operation) -Management throws others in front of bus instead of taking accountability -No time allowed for meaningful on the job training due to workload/pace. Constantly told to train new people while they work their own chamber. This often leads to the trainer having to troubleshoot 2 different issues to keep the chamber moving My first day, I was trained by someone who had only been there for 2 weeks. This should paint the picture for you -Every quarter was 'record breaking' and huge profits. What do the workers get? A boxed lunch or cheap pizza at the end of the quarter.....thanks -Asked supervisor for exit interview and for management to be present during it when I put my 2-weeks notice in. Was told no problem, it was very important to them, a requirement, and it would be setup. That was the end of any action taken on the matter. No exit interview was ever setup. I had to personally call HR and do one over the phone. I asked HR if one was setup or being organized and was told no. -Much more, but my advice is to skip employment from this company unless you only want to gain some experience and move on

Explore other reviews about Applied Materials

5.0
May 27, 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good company , benefits , lots of room for growth

Cons

Slow changes , tech related software on the IT side are very old.

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.

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