material handler

production operator

assembler

machine operator

production associate

A. O. Smith Corporation

● Work-life balance
Absolutely no work/life balance. Expect to come in and never know when you will be allowed to leave. Working 7 days per week and most holidays. They absolutely don’t care about families. Also hope to be in “good” with the supervisor and the “maintenance coordinator” or you won’t last long. They will work you relentlessly and wash their hands of you the first chance they get, especially if it helps them get ahead. Coworkers are quick to throw you under the bus to get ahead as well.

● Pay & benefits
No yearly bonus, high insurance cost, and pay is similar to many warehouse jobs in the area. Skilled labor should be paid accordingly.

● Job security and advancement
Growth is only promoted if you are “in” with the bosses. They will give you just enough training to hang yourself out to dry. The CNC training guy will be the first person to stick it to you. Beware!

● Management
Management is terrible!! Operating on the “good ole boy” system. Tooling supervisor loves to micromanage and thoroughly enjoys squeezing down on someone making them fear they will lose their job.

● Culture
Coworkers will stab you in the back any chance they get. Best to keep your head down and never speak to anyone unless you absolutely have to. Even then they will likely find a way to start trouble for you.

● Overall
Expect to work 7 days a week and 10+ hours per day. Everyone is lying in wait to stab you in the back to get ahead. Management loves threatening job security. Dayshift gets pampered and does the easy jobs in air conditioning while night shift does the grunt work in the heat. Imagine being on vacation and returning to work to be written up for something that happened while you were gone that you had no involvement in. NEVER mention your personal life! Don’t mention if you are married, have children, make any purchases, or even have bills. These things make them feel they can intimidate you using your job security to do so. Not a good workplace for someone with a family anyway as you will likely be at work more than you are at home. Worst work experience I’ve ever had.

My experience under this engineering manager has been challenging due to the management style used. Weekly evaluations are conducted in a manner that creates a “fight or flight” atmosphere, which does not promote learning, confidence, or engagement. Feedback is consistently negative with no acknowledgment of progress, achievements, or strengths, making it difficult to understand expectations or feel valued.

Additionally, the manager often uses bizarre analogies and personal theories regarding performance improvement, which can be confusing and unproductive. During evaluations, the approach tends to feel more like interrogation than coaching, and interactions can come across as belittling rather than supportive.

Overall, this management style does not bring out the best in employees or encourage potential growth. A more balanced, respectful, and constructive approach would significantly improve team morale and performance.

This work is extremely repetitive and fast paced.  Some people can't handle work that is constant and repetitive.  I think it is decent work for the pay.  There are chances for advancement.  People like to know more about their coworkers than most are willing to share. Personnel expects employees to do most of their own human resource work and there is a wall of paperwork that you have to fill out yourself.  The human resource department and supervisors seem to have a hard time keeping up with time and occurrences.  There are errors often.  Supervisors perch themselves in air conditioned offices and rely on hourly employees to run the show.  Upper management is overly concerned with paperwork.  The line jobs never really allow people to be creative or work to their potential.  Job bids are mostly done by seniority and sometimes lack luster employees get jobs simply because they have been there a long time.  The good side is that the jobs vary enough to allow most people can find something that they can do.  I enjoy working Saturdays and over 8 hours a day so I can get time and a half or double time for all hours over 48.  Unfortunately this year, our hours have been cut.  Most of my fellow employees are nice and I can work with almost all of them.  The turnover is horrid and we see new faces everyday.

What is the best part of working at the company?
It was clean inside, the building was clean to a point.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
It's incredibly nepotistic and your supervisor has control over rather you succeed or fail. There's no secondary training or assistance and a person that is over that has an attitude problem and doesn't like to help. Basically it's a fake until you make it type of job and if you actually genuinely care about helping people with their problems, this is not for you

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It's a very smile in your face stab you in the back type of work culture.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
You sit at your desk and take calls for anyone having any issues.  You refer back to the same manuals that they have access to to help them with the issues and if they are a technical support person like a plumber or a technician that you have to break things down even further with no support?

My experience in this role was genuinely positive and rewarding. From the beginning, I felt welcomed by a supportive team that valued collaboration, open communication, and mutual respect. The work environment encouraged learning and growth, allowing me to develop both professionally and personally. I was trusted with meaningful responsibilities, which helped build my confidence and sharpen my problem-solving skills. Management was approachable and provided constructive feedback, making expectations clear while also recognizing effort and achievements. I appreciated the balance between independence and teamwork, as it allowed me to contribute ideas while learning from others’ perspectives. The company culture promoted integrity, accountability, and continuous improvement, which made the work feel purposeful. Overall, this job gave me valuable experience, strong professional relationships, and a sense of accomplishment. It reinforced my motivation to grow in my career and seek roles where I can continue to learn, contribute, and make a positive impact.

I have been with A.O. Smith for around a year now as an intern, and I have thoroughly enjoyed everything about the company and my position. My bosses have gotten me involved in all aspects of my position. Although I have the title of intern, I am doing the same duties that I would be doing if I were full-time in that position.

Along with the autonomy of the position, I have very much enjoyed the work environment.  While the Milwaukee headquarters does have a typical office vibe, everyone working there is in good spirits.  Additionally, even though the company has around 11,000 employees world wide, you still get the family owned business feel, whereby co-workers often attend functions outside of work together, and so on.  

Finally, although I am just an intern, I have attended meetings up upper level management, including VP level, and have attended Quarterly report meetings with the CEO.  All of the top level management are dedicated to their positions, but are easy to talk with as well.

A.O Smith Water Heaters was a great experience and amazing staff, well communication within departments, teamwork effort resulting in great friendships and support. Production line required speed and self challenge but in the end gave great motivation an confidence, wage was amazing during and after probation period, top out pay at $19.00 hour within your first year. Learning water heater step building was amazing and discounts for all employees. Manager took the time to get to know every new employee and gave out birthday lunch time to discuss any ideas or opinions, communication meetings before every shift. A.O Smith gives everyone a chance to exercise their skills in different stations also while learning different jobs to swap for emergency replacement making employees feel involved. Great experience, highly recommended.

- working on the AS400 program for pulling orders for dock workers, completing and locating inventory, completing all reprots to submit to management, vice president and president of plant and company
-who to run a ship/receive office accurately fast paced and new program (AS400) not used everywhere
-management was professional but made the enviorment entertaining to make a better work place
- co-workers were like family after working 12 hours a day 7 days a wk for 11 months
-hardest part of job was getting inventory located outside the plant at other warehouses shipped over to shipping docks to load for live loads and drivers waiting on t a time schedule they have to adhere to by state laws.
-most enjoyable working with management and learning more of the entire job and company to excel in my position and the diversity of drivers assisting nightly.

I work as a maintenance mechanic. That being said, this is my first maintenance job, and they knew that from the start. Literally fresh out of TCAT with all my industrial maintenance certs. But I've been expected to just KNOW what I'm doing somehow. Nothing explained... No teaching... Just expectancies. Now, all things considered, it's a decent job. Once I got my feet under me, it got a lot easier. But that's only because I busted my butt to figure it out for myself. And the pay is pretty good. The maintenance manager, however, is pretty bad. He's got a very proud attitude. As if he's constantly in on some joke that you're somehow missing. And as stated above, not helpful in the least. No learning grace period. Just thrown to the wolves. Sink or swim baby. Considering all this, if you're an experienced Maintenance man looking for work, you'll be fine. But I would NOT recommend this place for a Maintenance greenie like me.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great teamwork and people. Fast paced and stream lined. Most importantly they really take care of their employees. The union does too if you join.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Work life balance. Sometimes your always working during peak business. You do get days off here and there due to production slowing down. That was my department though not all do that. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Great environment and company. Rarely met someone who wasn't helpful or down to earth. It's how most companies should be ran. Happy employees = high productivity.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Mine varied depending on the position needed. It is a large company and attendance is a factor. That's where the teamwork really shows depending on the day the focus may be on a particular department because they need the help.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Material handler 17 salaries reported	$20.64 per hour
Production operator 22 salaries reported	$20.01 per hour
Assembler 16 salaries reported	$21.41 per hour
Machine operator 17 salaries reported	$20.64 per hour
Production associate 25 salaries reported	$21.53 per hour

Working at A. O. Smith Corporation: Company Overview and Reviews

A. O. Smith Corporation

A. O. Smith Corporation Ratings

Popular jobs at A. O. Smith Corporation

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected