Pros
Great atmosphere, big projects, there are people you can learn from, and cutting edge engineering practices. Good policy regarding pretty much everything. Great company if you are a civil, structural or geotechnical engineer, I guess. Reasonably good package, 28 days off + bank holidays, pension scheme matching your contributions , 45 quid per month for gym membership, healthcare scheme, cycle to work and some other minor perks. Depending on the results of the company, they will raise the salaries and/or give you a bonus. It was £1500 in the last two years, for me. Last year they raised the salaries of the whole company 3.5%.
Cons
Difficult to move between different projects, they don't want to recognise that someone is doing a job above his or her pay. You just have to get on with it, even if the market out there pays 50% more for that position, as it was my case. A bit behind regarding WFH after the pandemic. They expect everyone to be back in the office at least 3 days a week, which is a bit annoying as the profit in the last two years has been the best ever in the UK branch, showing that WFH arrangements work. I guess some people could say that I'm being unreasonable for complaining about it, but the company results are there, my wallet notices the commuting and they are not paying for it. Promotion policy is clear, but cumbersome. You need to be chartered even to become senior engineer, it's not enough with 5 or 10 years of experience. They like to boast about learning, and training, and so on, but training is usually only useful to the main core of the old Donaldson Associates. If you knowledge is very niche and not strictly related to bridges, tunnels or maybe geotechnical design, forget about it, this is not your company as you are always going to be sidelined. They say they want to retain talent, but a lot of people leave before 2 or 3 years. I wonder why.
