Good Experience for Very Little Pay - Improvement Engineer Dow Employee Review

2.0
Jul 30, 2012
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The culture and people that work for Dow are very good people to work with. For the most part it is not a cut throat work place and there is not a competitive, cut others down to get ahead mind set on the surface. You are given a lot of responsibility quickly and are expected to take initiative to either find the solution or find the correct people who have the expertise that can point you in the right direction.

Cons

There is a horrible performance evaluation system in place at Dow. It is weighted very little on actual performance, work ethic, devotion to your work and more weighted on who likes you and who is willing to push for your upward movement in the company. It is well known through out the company that employees company wide disagree with the evaluation system, but management continues to turn a blind eye. Pay again is very low for industry average which is surprising since Dow is a leading chemical producer. Again management seems to not care that pay is the number one complaint from employees and seems to operate on the premise that as long as they can hire college graduates and keep hiring their retired workers out of retirement they will not raise their salaries. Employee turn over is extremely high due to low pay and the understanding that if you are not selected to be placed on the high performers list within your first year or two with the company you will never progress through the company no matter how hard you try.

Explore other reviews about Dow

5.0
Apr 16, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Culture and the technical expertise within the company provide for a working environment where you don't work in silo and everyone is willing to help support you

Cons

Administrative systems can be burdensome to overcome.

2.0
Mar 22, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Safety culture, flexibility (although less and less over time). Good health insurance and 401k match

Cons

Dow’s recent years illustrate the challenges of trying to simultaneously satisfy Wall Street’s demands for strong financial performance and aggressive DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) priorities. The company has heavily emphasized inclusion initiatives, including its openly gay CEO publicly sharing that coming out was one of the best days of his life in an internal communication, along with a notable increase in women appointed to senior leadership roles. Hiring practices reportedly require diverse candidate slates—including female candidates—and diverse interview panels before filling positions. These efforts, while well-intentioned, appear to have contributed to a series of questionable strategic decisions. Employees have borne the brunt through repeated rounds of layoffs (including significant cuts announced in recent years), minimal merit increases often in the 2-3% range, stalled promotions, and little turnover at the top levels of leadership. Senior executives seem insulated from the consequences, potentially overlooking how these factors—including their own leadership—may be central to the company’s ongoing struggles.

2
See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All