fiber technician

environmental project manager

senior project manager

senior project designer

project engineer

GAI Consultants

Good place to work, if you are under the right manager and there are some good ones who do care. Managers that I would happily work for. Other managers don't have people under them for a reason and only pretend to be on your side. Most of the time you'll be put into a box where you do one thing and will mostly do that and only that. It's very hard to break out of your perceived role with the company. Though there are exceptions. Upper management has said that is a problem but it hasn't changed since the day I started. So either they are incompetent or just don't care. I honestly think they just don't care. You're a tool or asset to be used to get the job done and collect money from the client. If you don't have any work to sustain you, you're going to be let go; however, that doesn't make them any different from any other consultant. That is just the business of it. 

I'm not a fan of the workplace culture. Most of the time you feel like management keeps you in the dark and doesn't really care. It's definitely a us versus them mentality. It doesn't sound like there is much respect for many of the people in charge. Moral has dipped quite a bit. Management also always seems to be reactionary instead of being ahead of things. Other companies are using tablets and updated technology for GPS while we are still using Trimble units. They said we'd have the tablets three or four years ago but they can't seem to figure it out. Meanwhile all the Trimble units are falling apart and they refuse to get new ones. That is just one example. Another issues is there are WAY to many top level people in the company that have high paychecks and they let lower level staff go first. This is a common complaint from everyone. 

Benefits are pretty and pay is good. You get a good amount of PTO time, bereavement leave, etc. Advancement is pretty hard to come by. You might get a few promotions within your job task but outside of that it probably isn't going to happen unless you are lucky. The work life balance was good too. When I needed a day off I get it. If they tell you in the interview you'll travel 30% of the time, don't believe them at all. It's going to be more like 60-80% depending on your job if the work is there. If things are slow it might be a little less. 

My advice is to come in and learn as much as you can and get as much experience as you can. Fight to do different things and diversify yourself and hope you get a manager who actually cares about your development. Once you have made it as far as you think you can or you feel you've reached your ceiling there, it's time to start looking at other consulting companies if you want to advance. 

Founded in 1958 by Carnegie Mellon University engineering graduate students, GAI developed a strong professional reputation in foundation engineering by supporting the needs of nationally recognized industrial and energy clients. In the late 1960s, and in response to urban growth and mounting environmental regulations, GAI diversified into transportation and land development while adding niche services in survey, environmental studies, and cultural resources, setting GAI apart from more traditional engineering firms. Strategic decisions to open offices located near our clients in growing markets throughout the U.S. led to the rapid growth of our firm. Corporate-wide consolidation of strategic acquisitions diversified our firm and transformed GAI into a premier engineering, planning, and environmental firm in the U.S. and abroad.

Okay place to work, but no organization at all. I came on as a manager but was put in a designer role and had no managerial role at all.  I was not given the opportunity to show anyone what I could do due to management in the local office.  There are no standards in place and no QC in place to make sure projects are successful and plans are quality for the the contractor and are error free even in shop drawing reviews.  

It was a very stressful place to work, as the manager was unrealistic of what was being asked to do and the office was severely understaffed.  Very unrealistic with expectations on cleaning up other peoples messes. 

Benefits are great and I think if working at one of the main offices it would be different, too stressful and hard at the satellite office here though.

Work-life balance
Work-life balance at GAI Consultants is inconsistent but that comes with the job.

Pay & benefits
My pay and benefits at GAI were below average.

Job security and advancement
In terms of job security at GAI Consultants, I think work comes and goes with the seasons and depends solely on building new infrastructure in the gas industry.

Management
In general, managers at GAI Consultants were supportive and understanding. I liked my boss there a lot.

Culture
Collaboration with my colleagues at GAI Consultants is a must. My coworkers seemed to be good, professional people.

Overall
My experience working at GAI Consultants was short but I enjoyed my time there and the opportunity they gave me.

Hours are not flexible for admin/office assist staff.  There is no advancement available and what training they do give you is minimal and not effective.  No matter how hard you work or how much you strive to achieve a goal, you will not be recognized and instead, asked to be accountable for your whole day, even if there is no work.  GAI structure is massively changing and many inexperienced people have been brought in to fill in the gaps but it is not effective and has brought moral and the office to a very toxic environment.  The benefits are great (health, pto, etc.) but it's not work putting up with dealing with the rest of GAI.

I worked with some amazing people during my time there and would return to continue working with them if I could be assured job security and a decent raise.  The constantly changing benefit plans and leadership styles leave something to be desired. I feel there are too many middle managers to make the company function the way it should. The company seems to be stuck between large functioning machine and a small employee rum firm. The company lives off of the work of the lower rated employees who do great work but the "client first" mentality sometimes works against them.

GAI is a wonderful company to work for overall. Benefits are good and I believe salary is good for management and technical staff. The only thing I am not happy with is that Admins are in a "pool" or corporate group, therefore the people I do work for do not have a bearing on my reviews and compensation. I would rather work for a group or groups on site and have a supervisor that is also a person I do work for. There is limited advancement for Admins to leave the corporate group.

GAI is a good place to start out of college, but this is definitely not a place you can (or will want to) stay for your career.  GAI is notorious for hiring externally for positions instead of promoting within.  There have been mass exoduses from GAI over the past 4 years, and its because of this, and a whole other multitude of problems, starting from the top all the way down.  There are more cons to this place than I have the time to list, but definitely dont make this a priority job for you.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Managers treat employees with respect.  They invest in "your" future and take the time to build and foster a true sense of what a team is to be.  

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Working with difficult sub-contractors. Which will always occur in any field. Most contractors are great to work with, but there is always that occasional one. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Inclusive, team building, accountability. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Fast paced, continuous attention to detail.

This is a great company for your first job out of college. But, after 2-3 years start looking for a new company  to move to. They do not give anything remotely close to any raise, even with promotions. They constant shuffle managers and employees around to the point where some managers forget who they have working for them. they do have a good 401k and ESOP program, and their benefits are reasonable good, but their pay leaves you desiring more. Unless you are related to someone in upper management, but if that's the case I don't think you'll be reading this.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Fiber technician 1 salary reported	$62,500 per year
Environmental project manager 5 salaries reported	$150,000 per year
Senior project manager 3 salaries reported	$129,167 per year
Senior project designer 3 salaries reported	$136,667 per year
Project engineer 1 salary reported	$75,000 per year

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