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National Instruments

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National Instruments Application Engineering reviews

4.3

64% would recommend to a friend

(95 total reviews)

Alex Davern

46% approve of CEO

47% positive business outlook

Application Engineering employees have rated National Instruments with 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 95 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Application Engineering professionals have an excellent working experience there. National Instruments is rated 24% above average by Application Engineering professionals compared to other employers within the Manufactura industry (3.5 stars).

Reviews by job title

95 reviews
2.0
Jul 22, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Intelligent coworkers, young people, dynamic environment

Cons

We work very long hours for average pay. We aren't told that during recruiting that some Applications Engineers work up to 80 hours a week, effectively halving hourly pay. Instead, there is a projection of a "fun" atmosphere where everyone works reasonable hours. The department depends on hiring employees who have extremely good work ethic, who will complete work that has to be done, even if that means working till past 10pm for a week. Exploitative, almost. There is also extremely high expectation on the quality of work produced. Management also tends to be extremely patronizing toward employees, and there is a Big Brother environment where people are too afraid to talk about or raise important issues that concern work environment. Work-life balance is a complete joke.

4.0
Jul 22, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

If you are the type that never wants a dull moment, National Instruments is the place to be. Anyone who is driven to move up and around the corporate structure, there are plenty of opportunities to do so. As long as you put in creative and hard work, you are encouraged and supported to do great things.

Cons

If you are looking for a stable environment where you are not constantly pressured to go over and beyond expectations, you typically do not fare well at National Instruments. Those people that just want the normal 9-5 job are often alienated from the rest of the group that sacrifice the work-life balance to get ahead. If you dont' fit in, you slowly get "expunged like a virus," as stated in the company's favorite book, "Built to Last."

4.0
Jul 8, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Phenomenal coworkers and a rich work atmosphere. NI's philosophy of recruiting the "best and the brightest" really shines in the quality of people it employs. Extremely bright, fun, diverse, out-going people people hired into the company make everything else tolerable. Flexible scheduling. Very little micro-management. Plentiful opportunities and encouragement to increase company knowledge. Very environmentally conscious. National Instruments does a good job of providing employees outlets for creativity, though it sometimes neglects to properly acknowledge achievements of creativity. Granted, this will happen with any company, but it seems that tactful self-promotion is the preferred method of praise at NI, which can be a bit awkward. Lots of travel opportunities--for the first year or two.

Cons

Not many opportunities for vertical career advancement; career openings appear in more of a horizontal position. Sometimes it's hard to be motivated for extra work when the reward doesn't necessarily move your career, say, three steps forward. Rather, it moves your career one step forward and then two steps to the left or the right. Managers act more like motivational orators than genuine logistics coordinators and mentors. You ask a manager a question, and assuming a ten-minute reply from a manager, the reply will have the following breakdown: 8 minutes will consist of compulsory enthusiasm and praise to you, and in the remaining 2 minutes might be the answer you wanted. The rich work atmosphere is regularly clouded by typical run-of-the-mill corporate hoopla. (The hype has good intentions, of course.)

Viewing 91 - 93 of 95 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,927 National Instruments reviews submitted anonymously by National Instruments employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if National Instruments is right for you.