A good place for new graduates to gain experience... but don't stay too long - Anonymous employee Applied Materials Employee Review

2.0
19 Dec 2011
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Applied is best suited for new graduates with little experience. You'll get: - Opportunity to work with high-end technology - Opportunity to travel at someone else's expense - Opportunity to convert your H1B into a green card (but you won't be happy staying there that long...) - Solid compensation at start and in good years

Cons

Applied Materials is not a place for technologists to build a long-term career. - Long hours and generally uncaring management means that you will likely be a pissed-off engineer working in a building full of pissed-off engineers - High turnover means a lot of time spent on re-work - Poor raises and rates of promotion even with high ("HS/TC") performance ratings - Advancement dependent on personal connections rather than performance. In one department in SSG, rankings and promotions were handed down before performance reviews were completed. - In good years, compensation is a 6 on a scale of 1-10. In bad years, its a 2. Average: 4 on a scale of 1-10.

Explore other reviews about Applied Materials

5.0
27 May 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
8 Apr 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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