Great Company Shadowed By Old School Philosophies, But Evolving
Pros
PCL is probably the Best Company I have ever worked for in my 30 year construction career. Being employee-owned means that when you are working long hours during busy periods, away from your family, in the office some weekend, you know it will come back to you through the share ownership program. Compare that with other companies where the profits go to others and your long hours merely dilute your income and reduce your hourly wage. Health benefits are top notch, nothing is missing here plus you get to choose how much coverage you want. The retirement plan is great, they match what you put in up to 5%. There are also other fringe benefits for gym memberships and personal activities. Technology and IT systems are state of the art, you get whatever you need to do your job, and do it well. Internal training is amazing, plus you can get reimbursed for external training. It's like getting paid to develop your career! There are lots and lots of projects to stretch your career legs on and grow, as much as you want. You can work on small $1,500 projects or projects in the $Billions plus everything in between. The sky is truly the limit. Bring you positive attitude, leave your preconceptions at the door, be prepared to think of yourself as a business owner as opposed to just an employee and you will go far.
Cons
Coming into PCL mid-career was a challenge, I wish I had started with them much earlier in my career. I had to take a large hit to my base salary but as I accumulated more shares over the years this became a moot point. I guess the lesson here is, the base salaries are quite low so if you want to work for PCL know this going in. You need to own a piece of the company and think of yourself as a business owner, not an employee. PCL is a massive Corporation so yes, you will feel like a small fish in a really big pond. More like a small fish in a bay, in a lake, next to an ocean. But this does give you a lot of room to swim! PCL really pushes mobility. Relocating to different offices is the quickest way to move ahead. Great for those who are portable, not so great for those who aren't. For those who simply can't relocate, career growth may be slow and this may prove to be a Achilles Heal for some.
