Good company to start your career, but you have to "pay your dues" - Process Engineer Sherwin-Williams Employee Review

4.0
23 Apr 2011
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

My experience with Sherwin Williams was overall positive with a few sticking points. I was hired in the middle of the recession so it showed that they were still looking to expand their talent since most companies were on a hiring freeze. The management at my particular facility was very open and very up front about everything. They really preached the open door policy and that really helped with any issues that came up during my time there. The upper management team (higher than my manager, regional management) for my region were also very open and upfront with expectations and goals they wanted you to achieve. The biggest pro of Sherwin Williams is their benefits package. Coming out of college it might not be the first thing on your mind but it makes a huge difference. They have medical, dental and vision coverage and a decent 401k matching.

Cons

Their compensation rates that I started at was below the average for my major. When I tried to negotiate it was a take it or leave it type of mentality. Two years later I had just made it to the average pay rate . It seems like SW is notorious at underpaying for the position. As an example when I left my "replacement" would be paid at a higher pay grade than what I was leaving at. Also don't expect to me climbing the latter quickly after your first promotion, it seems they have a "pay your dues" type of mentality as well. They will ask you where you want your career to go and such but most of the time they already have a set plan of where, how, when you'll get to your next promotion.

Explore other reviews about Sherwin-Williams

5.0
23 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I had a great boss

Cons

You would have some early mornings

5.0
16 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A positive work environment. The best co-workers I have had so far in my career worked with me at Sherwin. I also worked under an amazing management team. There is a lot of room for career growth. I worked for Sherwin for about 3.5 years. I started as a contracted lab technician, then I was hired full time as an R&D Associate Chemist. I quickly worked my way up to R&D Chemist within a year of being hired full time. The department I worked in was very fast paced, however, I know there are many other groups that move at a much slower pace with longer timelines. This would make it much easier to manage the workload.

Cons

Working with marketing was challenging at times. We would regularly receive big requests a day before they needed something. This would pose a challenge when you had other priorities to attend to. The pay was average. I do think it could have been slightly higher for all of the job responsibilities given to the chemists in my group specifically. The workload was overwhelming at times.

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