A good option if you want to be in the offshoring space - Programme Analyst Cognizant Employee Review

4.0
Jun 18, 2008
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good work culture. Better than other Indian offshore counterparts. You will get benifits such as work from home etc. You tend to be given managerial responsibilities early in your career and if you do prove yourself, you grow up quite quickly. It is one company that doesnt really treat you just like code monkey .. but tries to involve you in more interesting roles as well. You have regular meetings with the senior management so that you kind of know what is going on in the company. In my opinion, the apprisals etc are fair and everybodys needs in terms of onsite oppurtunities, client visits are entertained

Cons

Its an organization thats growing too fast. You tend to get lost in the crowds. More importantly, the pay is way less compared to the other US companies. It may be better than some of the Indian companies, but it is nowhere close to what simmilar companies pay in the US. Another downside is that the company doesnt really care about your after work life. Employees are expected to work late in the nights, on weekends .. and even from home on working days. Offshore employees tend to call you at 6 am ! to get their queries answered. Not a great choice if you want to have a good work life balance

Explore other reviews about Cognizant

5.0
May 27, 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
Jun 5, 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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