construction manager

project engineer

senior project manager

project manager

engineer

ESP Associates, Inc.

ESP is the classic example of a small mom & pop shop that has grown to big for its own britches and is now a disheveled mess. Management is disorganized and chaotic. No-one outside of owners and leading project managers has any idea what is going on at the company level. No communication whatsoever with staff regarding future projects, work projections, long term plans, satellite offices, profits, opportunities for advancment, etc. Everything is top top secret.

Company owners and HR staff are loud and intrusive asking odd personal questions of the staff that are border line harassment. Very very odd work culture. Feels as if everyone is walking on egg shells at this place.

Department heads talk the talk about wonderful opportunities for advancement and flash goodies (mediocre salary increases) during reviews, but advancement opportunities never materialize. Project managers are mostly incapable of delegating. Awful work life balance as a result. PM's do not listen to production staff and place unreasonable work deadlines on staff. They constantly tell individual staff members how lucky we are to have jobs and how bad working conditions are at other companies.

Note:  I worked at ESP for less than a year at the height pf COVID19.  
ESP Associates definitely had the feel of an Old School Engineering/Consulting Firm.
1.  Onboarding program was light.  
2.  New employees were expected to hit the ground running and be up to speed quick.  They were expected to be as productive as longer term employees immediately.
3.  Overtime was strongly encouraged and expected.
4.  They do care about their employees and were revising the incentives for professional licensing and certifications.
5.  They had revised their employee handbook and wanted 4 week notice when leaving.
6.  During Covid, there was a lot of Virtual meetings, but Conference Room had no VC capabilities (had to develop workarounds with leftover home equipment ).

I took this job during the recession and stayed there 9 months in this role. This is the only company I've ever worked for that I dragged my feet to work and literally wanted to shoot myself by the time the day was over. There's a reason they have the same proposal job posted every year. 

The job posting doesn't tell you what it really is. They want an admin but labeled as a proposal support role. I'm a hugely hard worker but I draw the line when the CEO/President gripes about the way his papers are stapled (horizontal instead of slant so the pages turn out and not up - :/). They micromanage like no one's business and have unrealistic expectations for everyone. Pay is average. Definitely not worth what they want you to do. and Let's be honest it's the Old Boys Club from the way they talk in the halls to the way your performance is evaluated. This is a not a career company. Use it as a stepping stone and get out. Or better yet, just avoid it. I wouldn't refer my worst enemy to work here.

Esp continues to stay on the cutting edge of technology. Which gives you and opportunity to utilize some fascinating equipment and software.  The company is growing fast and expanding into new markets which often creates new positions. But as with most bigger companies its easy to get lost in the shuffle, especially if you've been there for a long period of time.  I learn a lot and had the opportunity to work with a lot of the latest technology, but I also felt like I could have done so much more if given the opportunity.

They don't set you up to succeed, but rather to fail. 

A specific example: I was told prior to hire that the company would train me on the software that I had no experience in. Instead, they showed me a few basic commands and didn't tell me any of the company's 'lessons learned'. I worked on several projects using techniques and procedures from my CAD/ GIS background. Once someone finally checked my work, it was 'wrong' and set all three projects back. I got blamed for the set-back. (In CAD/ GIS, you always want to join and connect lines together. Apparently, in this software that was the wrong thing to do.)

Also, they would constantly provide conflicting instructions.

I would spend the day doing property research either on the internet or at the county courthouse. I would use microstation to layout surveyed land. It was a very business like culture, but they also took the time to help the community, for example, they were a member of the adopt-a-stream program. The hardest part of the job was making sure all of the survey crew had downloaded their survey points each day, so they could be updated. The best part of the job was having the responsibility and trust to manage my own time.

I’ve worked for ESP for over a year, starting at $12 an hour. The pay is one of the few things I can’t complain about. The work is ok, mostly boring. My coworkers at the lower levels are decent, but the managers are petty jerks who don’t communicate with each other, compete with each other, can’t manage worth a darn, major on the minors and minor on the majors. The PM in my department can’t even put the right county on a survey plat, yet the field crews get in trouble for running the AC in the work truck over lunch break. In the summer. When it’s 95 degrees outside. I could go on, but there’s no reason to. Bottom line, this company sucks.

About average for a medium sized company. Not a lot of transparency on goals of the company - owned by an investment firm. Benefits are bad. Insurance has ok coverage, but the insurance provider makes it very bad. No short term or long term disability paid for. Low vacation days and holidays. Low 401k match. On the low side of average pay, dont even think about yearly bonuses because they are minuscule. 

I enjoyed working at this company most days. I guess like any other company there are good and bad days. 
There were definitely workers that got better jobs in the field than others, but all in all it was a good place to work. 
I would never have leggy if work hadn't run out. 

Good company for work/life balance. Management really varies from office to office. In Wilmington, management is laid back as long as you're getting your work done. Very little micromanagement and you're given a lot of independence to complete your work from day to day. Overall good experience but pay and opportunity for advancement isn't the best.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Construction manager 13 salaries reported	$112,615 per year
Project engineer 12 salaries reported	$100,417 per year
Senior project manager 2 salaries reported	$151,250 per year
Project manager 4 salaries reported	$126,500 per year
Engineer 5 salaries reported	$166,000 per year

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