Good People, Good Opportunities, but A Big Corporation - Associate Software Engineer Cognizant Employee Review

4.0
2 Sept 2020
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Great, high-profile clients - Enrichment (udemy, etc) - Good Pay and Benefits

Cons

- Onboarding was confusing - COLA statements were misleading - It is a large organization. Communication mix ups can lead to problems. - Highly bureaucratic -- way too many meetings for nothing - Often expected to be available/work/check emails well into the evening AND very early in the morning ! - Little to no assistance in finding new projects once you are on the bench That is the big one. Admittedly, I was benched during the pandemic but, if anything, that is even more reason to give assistance to us. We were benched through no fault of our own. There was a lot of lip service about getting us new projects, but there was no plan in place for how to utilize the many assets released from projects, We were left completely in the dark on whether or not we were being considered for anything aside from the very opaque internal job site. Internal recruiters proposed me for roles for which I did not qualify, and I made no progress. Maybe it would be better under normal circumstances, but I felt very alone in my search for a new role, and all the while management was blaming me for not doing enough. In the end, I felt Cognizant had no interest in retaining me despite that fact that I had been an exemplary employee at every turn.

Explore other reviews about Cognizant

5.0
27 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good projects, challenging work, lots to learn

Cons

The way the bench status is structured

1.0
5 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A potential inroad into large client companies (Leave Cognizant ASAP) You aren't unemployed.

Cons

It's a body shop. Clients will view you accordingly. Contractors cannot be trusted with most tasks. You must be siloed (No room for growth) so you don't break anything. Your actual job is to fulfill gaps in the client's grunt work even if out of scope. If you don't, the hammer falls from client and Cognizant. Wages well below industry standards. 1% annual raises only exist because legally they must exist. Takes full advantage of H-1B slave system, where employees' families and homes will be thrown into a furnace if you aren't keeping Cognizant happy no matter what. Employees are complacent in their slavery. Management is just happy to get their extra crumbs and will reinforce the bad culture. C-suite is opaque. If you are familiar with India's caste system you will understand how "lessers" are treated. This also happens in a literal sense, you aren't totally safe just because you are the favored skin tone. Takes full advantage of modern white collar culture. "Your racist actions aren't actually racist if you aren't Caucasian." Expect the uphill battle to be even more steep if you're not Southeast Asian. You will hunt for your own work most of the time. Cognizant is not helpful in any regard. They exist to skim off the top and nothing else.

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