engineer

intern

mechanical engineer

laboratory technician

fire engineer

Arup

I typically spent my day at the computer working on building system design drawings. I also completed calculations, coordinated with architects and other project consultants, also answered RFIs and submittals, and occasionally visited project sites. Most of my time was spent at a desk at the computer.
I learned a lot working at Arup, I started as a new grad and after multiple years with this company, I now have a fair amount of knowledge and expertise in my area of design. In my particular group, people were very nice, They were warm friendly, family-like, and very helpful. The culture can vary between different teams though (mine was fairly small 7-12 people). Some of the teams expect more overtime than others, and treat new grads less respectfully (expecting more overtime since they are 'younger' and 'don't have a family'). Although they say they are flexible work-place and  there are options to work remotely, it isn't necessarily encouraged and can be hard to negotiate with your manager (depending on who it is).
The overall employee culture is good, people are pretty friendly for Los Angeles. There is an expectation of overtime that can create stress. Upper management is no longer in my opinion interested in balancing what is best for business and what will make their employees happy, and solely prioritizing what will expand the business. Maybe this is just growing pains of the business but I am not sure. I think management is not good at communicating. It does not feel very transparent, and the communication between top and bottom seems be less and less. I have had the experience of upper management discussing your job/situation extensively and then never being told the 'results' of these conversations, except through the grapevine of other people. It was very frustrating and seems overly bureaucratic and non-transparent.
The hardest part of the job is deadlines and working overtime. Due to the way the business works, there is often a lot of work around deadlines that cannot be done sooner due to waiting on information/coordination with others. The most rewarding part by far is seeing something you designed built.
This company also wants to see you develop, so they are willing to send you to conferences and education - but they will not adjust your workload for it.
They tend to pay less than other comparable companies and jobs in this area(comparing to friends in similar jobs/areas). You do get paid overtime (unless you are upper level engineer or management). The benefits are pretty nice, the 401k contribution is better than anywhere else I've seen. Also, it is a global company, opportunity to try to move offices through-out US or outside of US (not easy to move but possible).

Overall, if you are looking to work on really cool engineering projects this is a great place to work, but there are some potential drawbacks in terms of management and overtime.

Specimen Processing at ARUP is a job that is extremely necessary for the medical community. It is primarily data entry while handling medical specimens. While most specimens are pretty rote and simple, some require specific handling, all of which is really fairly easy. You are measured on metrics of speed and accuracy, neither of which is difficult for most people given time to get used to it (which they are generous about). 

Once you get used to the job, it very quickly becomes a boring tedium. They allow you to listen to anything on your phone though, and that is a huge perk. Most employees will listen to audiobooks, podcasts and music all day long while processing, and you can get through A LOT of audio media at this job.

Progression in the department is disappointing. There are several internal positions which you can rise through, all of which offer pay bumps that are laughable for increased responsibilities. But they are still pay bumps and promotions, so they can look decent on a resume if/when you decide to move elsewhere. If you are planning to get a MLS or related degree, it is actually fairly easy to move almost anywhere in the laboratory areas of the company where you are respected much more than in specimen processing. Not that specimen processing is treated bad, but they do feel largely ignored. And the turnover rate is fairly high which makes for very frequent possible promotions up to a certain point.

Management seems to largely ignore those in specimen processing as individuals, and gets involved with the department only when things are going wrong, such as if there is a large backlog of work and specimens are starting to expire. When things get bad in that regard, they even have mandatory overtime (don't worry; it's not legally enforceable and they know it. Lots of bark, little bite). But if you like to work overtime, they do occasionally offer very generous bonuses on top of the standard OT pay. Just don't go in expecting to receive any personal attention in regards to growth or actual career guidance.

The building does have a cafeteria which is alright. The menu is often hit or miss, but they are usually open late, so if you work swings or even graves, you can still get something to eat (at least on weekdays until about 1:00 am). Later in the day, they only offer the grill food (burgers, fries, greasy fried stuff).

Also, if you are planning on getting a MLS or related degree, they have a great program for helping you get that degree with possible 100% tuition reimbursement. Absolutely worth checking out if this is something you are considering.

Honestly, it beats call center work by a long shot. But the pay is generally comparable to working fast food. If you want to work in a medical lab, the rest of the company is apparently fantastic, but specimen processing is mostly a dead end.

When I applied at ARUP, I had placed a general application, and they called to interview me for a position I ultimately was unable to keep. This was no fault of theirs, but mine. After it became apparent that I would not be able to fit in the position I had originally trained for, the management spoke with me about my options. It turns out, I had impressed them with my work ethic and determination to succeed well enough that they offered me another position in the same section I had been training to work in.  I sadly was unable to work for long for ARUP, due to interference from health conditions, but I still say they are the best company I've ever worked for.

ARUP promotes a culture of diversity and celebrates their employees' differences with the understanding that such differences encourage innovation in their industry. It's a company where I felt welcome and accepted by not just my peers, but also those who worked outside my specific field, as well as by the management. They offered the ability for me to adjust my arrival and departure, within a reasonable amount, to coincide with transit's schedule, as I was commuting to work via public transit and had no vehicle of my own. 

My job as a PDT was a physically demanding job, but ARUP ensured I had plenty of time for breaks between my ciculations through the floor. A typical day included inspections and cleaning of Eye Wash stations as well as of boihazard safety hoods. I was also required to restock stations where processors restocked their own workstations; this usually involved emptying bags of plastic test tubes and their lids into bins, as well as ensuring supply cabinets had enugh supplies and putting them on order if necessary.

The primary task of a PDT at ARUP at the time I worked there involved retrieval of various specimens (ranging from saliva to blood) in nonstandard containers and transporting them to another section of the facility where they could processed for proper testing. Some of the containers I received included tubs, samples in paraffin (wax), and nonstandard test tubes (made of glass, or of types that would not fit in the standard tube holders that went to test after processing).  Required protective equipment usually required only lab gloves and a lab coat, both of which were supplied by ARUP. I was also required to wear my name tag at all times I had my lab coat on. Dress code included standard street clothes, which for usually consisted of a button-down shirt and long trousers.

One of the things I loved most about ARUP was the people! No matter how tired I got, or how much my feet hurt, getting to chat with friends and acquaintances on the processing floor for a few moments kept the job fun and interesting. As long as I didn't dawdle at my task, I could exchange news and chat a bit while receiving specimens from the various pods of processors. 

Years ago, this was a fun, nurturing place to work, the kind of place you would want to stay with until retirement. You could be dedicated to this company because they were supportive and loyal to their employees.

A significant shift in management, however, has taken place over the last 8 years or so. With the rise of the Infrastructure Group in the corporate hierarchy, the culture has changed dramatically. The emphasis is now solely on the bottom line. Innovation and creativity are no longer valued or rewarded. Sure, every company exists to make money, but the grinding, daily scrutiny of project profitability and cash flow means that there is no longer work/life balance or job security. Engineers are expected to work 60+ hours a week, and some of the best minds were laid off when the economy tanked.

There is still some advantage for young engineers to gain valuable experience on interesting and challenging projects, if they are willing to bust their tails for low wages and with little support from management. After 5 to 7 years, many leave for better environments and especially for better compensation. The result is that the company profile of longevity is hourglass-shaped, with a lot of young engineers, too few experienced mid-career leaders to mentor those young engineers, and a lot of senior management who aren't engaged on the projects because they are too expensive.

This once proud company of grand ideals and innovative solutions is now a sweat shop led by whip-crackers.

Working at Arup as a structural engineer has been a truly rewarding experience. The company fosters a highly collaborative environment where knowledge-sharing and teamwork are deeply embedded in the culture. From day one, I was surrounded by incredibly talented and supportive colleagues who were always willing to help, mentor, and challenge me to grow.
The multidisciplinary nature of Arup means you get to work closely with experts across various fields, which enriches your perspective and strengthens project outcomes. The people here are not only technically brilliant but also genuinely kind and passionate about making a positive impact through engineering.
Leadership encourages innovation and values input from all levels, which makes you feel heard and respected. There’s a strong emphasis on professional development, and I’ve had access to great training resources and opportunities to work on complex, meaningful projects.
Overall, Arup is a place where you can thrive professionally while being part of a team that truly cares about each other and the work they do. I highly recommend it to anyone looking for a thoughtful, people-first engineering firm.

Arup is a neo-colonial marketing cult with a high representation of social justice warriors, cultural Marxists, slackers and enablers. The firm markets and pretends to worship the stated secular humanist manifesto of the founder, but clearly there are few true adherents. Brown skirts use diversity and inclusion loyalty tests to practice stealth redistribution economics. Diversity and inclusion trumps merit and is simply an excuse to pursue power and undermine hard work unless one is in the class targeted for affirmative action. The firm retains technically weak careerists and doughnut eaters who exploit the matrix organizational framework by undermining others, evading responsibility and engaging in fear-based politics. The promotion process is opaque and results in high rates of turnover especially if one isn't from the UK. Arup simply can't retain good people. The firm places a high emphasis on hiring new grads and indoctrinates them with the personal agendas of the principals to dissuade them from ever leaving the bubble.

Arup has probably the best employee compensation/benefits package in the entirety of the AEC consulting industry. 401K match, health benefits. PTO, combined with base salary brings it at the top compared to competitors. Teams are friendly, management is fair, yearly pay increases are sensitive to economic forecasts and profitability rather than being stagnant.

Work-life balance varies, from terrible to very good. 

The demands from the industry moving to faster paced project designs and builds are causing the work-life balance to suffer. Project deadlines are the biggest problem, and having to do coordination after design is complete is a headache.

If you want to work in a socially conscience company that has a great reputation for treating employees well, then ARUP is your go to. If you want to avoid hectic deadlines, management constantly accommodating to the ridiculous demands of the client while having to compete with other AEC companies that could care less about their employees then you shouldn’t be in this industry.

Overall, I loved Arup. It was a great place to work. Great people, great projects, great culture, and employee owned... I felt connected to the firm in a way I never had previously. I planned to work out the rest of my career there, and when the re-org was announced, it seemed reasonable that in the new direction, my work would be vital.

I don’t really know the details of how things shook out when it was determined that my discipline was redundant, but even in a place as altruistic and decentralized as Arup, ego and politics will still play a massive role. I still have great respect for my former co workers, and for the firm in general, which is saying something, because I’m really angry today. But to all that remain there and all who read this thinking of accepting or applying for a role there, please don’t forget that for values to mean anything, they have to be able to survive trials. In my case, they didn’t.

Best of luck to all.

When I first started nine years ago the job and company were exciting, and it felt like a place where one could grow and succeed for the remainder of their career. Unfortunately newer regional an local leadership seemed to change that culture to be a bit more good 'ol boys (an girls) club. A little bit of the "if you didn't come from the mothership in London, you are not ever going to get ahead" type environment at the Americas regional level, and a bit of the "If I worked with you at another firm in town, you get special treatment" at the local office level. There has also been a shift over the years to only caring about and providing promotions for staff involved in the mega trophy projects, and the smaller projects under $1MM in fee are deemed insignificant. Middle-upper management has no clue how to manage an build teams...they are great engineers, just horrible management and leadership skills.

This organization is ideal for anyone who enjoys starting their day with a smog filled commute that feels like an endurance event and ending it in a cubicle farm that quietly discourages ambition. The workplace culture promotes surface level friendliness, paired with the constant suspense of whether coworkers might throw you under the bus to curry favor with management. Professional growth is discussed often, though in practice it seems to follow an unspoken formula—one that rewards visibility, agreement, and skillful navigation of office politics over meaningful development. Overall, it’s a memorable environment for those who appreciate routine, can tolerate limited upward momentum, and don’t mind learning firsthand how resilience is built… slowly.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Engineer 3 salaries reported	$74,667 per year
Intern 8 salaries reported	$32.63 per hour
Mechanical engineer 3 salaries reported	$91,000 per year
Laboratory technician 9 salaries reported	$15.33 per hour
Fire engineer 3 salaries reported	$107,933 per year

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