material handler

truck driver

assembler

production associate

inside sales representative

Boise Cascade

Please keep in mind that there are many facilities that all operate in various ways however this was my experience and a common experience shared with many others who worked directly with me...
                                                    
The Perks: 
 -The pay and benefits  are adequate for the cost of living in my area which was the main draw when I applied. 
-Boise Cascade does cover some of the costs of our work boots and other gear which we do appreciate as the required boots are expensive. 
-I have had a few spectacular managers but sadly they have all decided to leave the company for reasons I can understand.
                                                  
The Down Sides: 
-We are forced to work overtime on a daily basis which can be difficult when you have a family, keep that in mind when deciding if  this is the right company for you. You'd be looking at 45-60 hours a week, these hours can be decreased or increased at any time. 
-The company/market is volatile so be aware that there is always a chance you could loose your job at the drop of a hat with no fault of your own.
-There is a serious issue with about 75% of the management that are currently employed. I have seen a pattern of HR employing incompetent "managers" with no leadership skills or knowledge about how to run a mill. These managers are arrogant and don't tend to have logical and thought out decisions. This makes it difficult for employees to trust them, preform their duties as well as feel confident about the tasks that they are asked to do.
 -  I won't be surprised when this company gets sued for the unlawfully firing of an employee as I have personally witnessed accounts of that happening in the few years I have worked for this company.

 Overall: 
- As a whole it's a good company but there is a lot of room for improvement.  Keeping a closer eye on management would be a key factor in this company maintaining a low turnover rate, thus saving the company money and keeping employees non-retaliatory towards the company itself and supervisors.  I personally know many of the employees have found new jobs solely because of the poor management and that's too bad because the company itself is pretty respectable and professional.

This was may first warehouse job I had ever had. I loved this job. Having learned so much about the production of a major corporations warehouse and to be giving the opportunity to be an important part of it's daily sales and productions. I started as an order selector and quickly moved up the ladder, learning everything I could in the warehouse from order selecting, accuracy, Packaging, Printing shipment labels, pick tickets, and manifest. Shipping and receiving, quality control, Inventory control,stock,waist management, Loading and unloading trucks with electric pallet jacks. Getting to know the managers and all co workers. It wasn't long before I was promoted to a team leader, which taught me the importance of having good communication skills and to give satisfaction guarantee. I got along well with my managers, supervisors and co workers, who showed me respect and looked to me for answers and solutions once I gained the knowledge that they individually taught me. I cant say that there was any part of the job that was very hard except for when the conniver belt would quit working and we would have to manually push the orders down the line, which slowed production tremendously. Then of course having to work a lot of overtime to make dead lines. The most enjoyable part of the job was being on the safety committee. We made safety questions for all the employees to have a chance at getting the right answer and winning some sort of prize. Like a safety T-shirt and of course recognition. I also enjoyed the hour lunch they gave us. It made it possible to go home for lunch or go to an eating establishment with co workers and get to know them better

This company has a very high turnover rate 90% alot employees constantly get hurt in this company management pushes the employees way too much with the overtime and management keeps overworking their employees to the point they quit to find another job management is so greedy about their bonuses they want all the employees to work really fast they dont care about their safety this company is getting worse and worse and they are having a hard time having people if management doesnt get volunteers to come in on Saturdays then its mandatory they dont pay their employees enough for the amount of work and stress they go through every day they're so cheap to do repairs which costs them more time and labor because they dont want to spend alot of money to get it fix the first time all their machines are very old ancient they need to upgrade and buy more efficient machines but they refuse to do it corporate needs to get rid of everyone in management and hire people that actually knows how to run a business because the current management team is driving this company straight to the ground this company is very understaffed cause how management treats their employees its ridiculous it's a hostile work environment and management is very disrespectful towards their employees

A typical day at Boise Cascade is fast-paced and physically demanding, with constant pressure to meet production goals. I’ve learned how to manage long hours and tough workloads, but opportunities to grow or train outside the role you were hired for don’t really exist. Management seems more focused on numbers than people, and they will flat-out lie to your face about pay raises or bonuses. But don’t worry—they’ll make sure to order pizza and even keep some in the fridge for you. They constantly preach safety, but don’t even understand the laws or regulations on how to load trailers or what it means to overload a trailer. It’s always 100% profit over safety. They even brought in a bunch of curtain side trailers, acting like it was some great upgrade, but in reality it’s just so they can hide how the trailers are being loaded. And if you do something they don’t like—even if it’s minor—it’s 100% out the door with no questions asked. It’s not a matter of if they’ll fire you, it’s when. Meanwhile, the same people can make mistakes, damage products, and still be fine. The culture feels discouraging at times because effort and pay aren’t balanced. The hardest part of the job is keeping up with the workload while knowing compensation doesn’t match the demands. The most enjoyable part of the day is clocking out and finally being done.

Loved working there very fast pace learning to load trucks and balancin the trailors so they even out exspecially the ones that have more then one stop we had a real great team i learned alot quick exspecially loading management really never had a clue about certain things some people were not treated well never had concrete evidence on anything they decided pooru judges of characteri like the shift we helped each other like a team should we aint togetheri learned different materials l learned how to move 60 feet LvL's li learned to load a truck like a puzzle with multiple stops some people dont get enough time to learn.the system they do alot of inhouse hiring and promotions if your gonna work you have to pay attention make sure management is on point and your team is ax team and try not to drop any lumber youl picking it up by your self repackaging it so becareful i dont know what else to say oh they do have over 30 places in the usa so you can move if you wanted too and it can get real buisy just be prepared each shifts does different things1st unloads and loads that didnt get done and stack 2nd cuts to order set s your load to get picked by 3rd shift 3rd pretty much loads and clean and sometimes unload if we have too

Most entry level positions are well payed, starting at $13 per hour for probation, then minimum 16.50 for lowest level job plus benefits. The jobs are almost all repetitive and tedious, but easy, which is to be expected of entry level production jobs. They also tend to be long physical hours, and very few days aren't spent sore outside of work. Co-workers are usually ready to help anyone, new or old, and most are very friendly. Management has always been nice in my observation, although I have heard stories of aggression and pressure. They do put a high point on safety, with paid monthly safety meetings, and swift action for safety violations.

Besides pay and benefits, not much is enjoyable about working there. It's a mill, so it's hot, the air is thick, and everything is moving fast. Mandatory overtime is anticipated weekly, but they will usually "ask" as a courtesy (usually "no" doesn't work.)

Most openings for advancement are just lateral moves, with very few actual "promotions" appearing rarely. Layoffs appear to be seasonal, so temporary, but consistent.

Two 10 minute breaks, One 20 minute lunch (Both start from the time you are relieved of your post, so includes walks to and from break room.)



First started working here and things ran smoothly and things got done with little stress or time pressure. A large and unecessary change happen recently, now it's stressful and majority of management is below average. Most your work you cannot finish, shifts before mine are unable to finish their work. Leaving every shift with unachievable goals along with low morale now. Do not expect higher ups to ask their subordinates how things are going or what can be improved.  Bottom line once again is the goal of the number crunchers. We were beating records left and right with what was implemented prior to the change. We are not even busy now and things are barely, if not even getting done. If you are looking for temporary work to rack up money or experience, I recommend this. But if you are looking for a longer term, I would look else where. 

I have noticed on these reviews that salaried employees have a very different perspective on Boise Cascade than production or maintenance employees. 
Boise used to be a great place to work. But experienced supervisors and mill managers have been replaced with "educated" people. Practical experience lost its value in favor of youth, and an ability to manipulate a spreadsheet. 
Millions are spent on "upgrades" that never seem to produce the promised improvements. Things that sound good in a sales pitch,  or on paper,  often don't translate to production gains.
Employees are not compensated very fairly. Skilled labor (electricians, millwrights, mechanics, etc) are paid barely above general labor. Wage increases are minimal, generally less than 50 cents an hour. 
HR is a nightmare. Young, inexperienced floor supervisors are given zero latitude to make decisions. Everything is ran from a corporate office, miles away from the actual plant. Employees are two things to Boise HR: a drain on their economic bottom line and 'easily' replaceable. We are consistently understaffed and they cannot hire or keep skilled labor. 
I could not, in good conscious, recommend Boise Cascade.

I enjoyed the mental challenge of time management. I was not enamored of the physical nature of loading presses, but applied myself to work smart and safe first before over exerting myself. I eventually learned to enjoy getting physical as needed, being careful to stay in the moment and not think ahead more than one or two tasks at a time, concentrating on the task at hand until accomplished

I managed to get along pretty well with everybody despite being a bit shy in the beginning. Doing the work well was always my first priority, socializing was for break time and before and after work hours. We really had no choice but to embrace the work ethic if we wanted to keep our jobs and eventually excel enough to move up.

The supervisors all tried to do their jobs as best as possible, and learning how to deal with their different personalities and quirks was  a bit of a challenge. At that point, BC St' Louis was the home of the Composite Can Division R & D, and those were the people I admired the most. Higher educated and motivated to improve the process was a goal I always wanted to achieve as well.

Learned a lot, had good coworkers until everyone started looking out for themselves. Teamwork is nonexistent and only a select few helped each other, if you weren’t buddy buddy you were left to figure it out alone. Work gets pushed on the ones who try, the ones who don’t get left to do whatever. Management is arrogant, compensation is a joke, work hard to keep the plant running on your own and you’ll get nowhere, but others will level up doing the bare minimum. These people do not care about your personal emergencies or personal stuff in general. If you’re late or call out, expect a warning or a write up. You are just a number here. You will work long days & nights and will be asked to work on your days off regardless of what plans you may already have. Leaving this place was the best decision I made. If you can work here, you can work anywhere. Too many places hiring with better pay to even consider putting up with this. Being in maintenance, the best way I can describe it is “you’re given 30 minutes to complete a job on the run, you finish in 20 and they will complain that you did not do it in 10” keep the line running is the name of the game here. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Material handler 176 salaries reported	$21.79 per hour
Truck driver 74 salaries reported	$27.28 per hour
Assembler 70 salaries reported	$19.98 per hour
Production associate 32 salaries reported	$22.18 per hour
Inside sales representative 39 salaries reported	$31.10 per hour

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