Keep you in a box - Software Engineer 3M Employee Review

2.0
Jun 22, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-If you're a talent, you can have a job forever at 3M. Average career is 25 years. -Good benefits

Cons

Please note, this applies to only the HIS division: -Division leaders lack vision and are tyrants when it comes to managing talent. They will yell at you in meetings for nothing. -If you're a company that gets acquired by 3M, just run, leave as fast as you can. 3M will suck the culture you've come to enjoy out and will drain any joy you had working there. The 3M way means antiquated ways of managing and thinking which makes sense given that 3M has been around for a 100 years. -If you don't fit into the mental "box" they've created for a position, don't expect to get a job you really want. For example, they will only hire MBA's for certain positions even though more competent people can do the job who don't have the qualification. They don't understand what it means to nurture and find "talent". -If you're not a member of the talent (sales, product managers, implementation, marketing, etc) expect to have a short leash and be fired quickly for not helping achieve the bottom line. HIS restructures like it's going out of style. -No work from home opportunity. They want people in the office even though they say they are a "green" company and despite the fact that the people who work out of the Silver Spring office live in one of the worst metropolitan areas for traffic.

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5.0
Dec 11, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Work for what you get. Rewarding work and great management structure

Cons

Management can be vague sometimes

3.0
Jun 10, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Company investing in new products and higher growth markets

Cons

Over the past five years, there has been a significant decline in employee loyalty and incentive programs. Equity compensation, such as stock options and RSUs, was previously accessible to mid-level managers but is now strictly reserved for directors and above, reducing long-term incentives for a large portion of the workforce. Additionally, an increase in micromanagement and administrative red tape—particularly regarding strict scrutiny on all spending—has hindered productivity. The frequent practice of cutting budgets to meet short-term quarterly Operating Income (OI) targets is ultimately compromising our long-term revenue growth.

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