engineer

developer ii

project manager

project engineer

construction manager

POWER Engineers

POWER plays favorites.  If you're part of the in crowd, you'll go far. It doesn't hurt if you're also an engineer.  And a man.  (There are opportunities for some women, but, again, you must be part of the in crowd.)  If you think outside the box in non-technical areas, buckle up, cause the ride will be bumpy.  POWER likes conformists.  POWER likes predictability.  POWER's managers may trumpet diversity, but the desire for diversity ends when it comes to diversity in thought.  (And, of course, diversity in thought is one thing that will help keep businesses from stagnating over the coming decades.)  POWER's compensation is inconsistent.  Some people make well above market for what they do, while others are paid well under market and offer relatively the same skills and abilities.  If you get hired in at a rate that is lower than it should be, management will likely shrug their shoulders and agree that you got hosed, yet refuse to address the issue effectively.  Stellar performance appraisals do not necessarily lead anywhere--unless you are part of the in crowd, when they are used to justify promotions, raises, etc.  Great opportunities exist for those who are liked by an influential manager; otherwise, prepare for a career full of disappointment and discontent.  And did I mention micromanagement?  So many POWER managers have no idea how to manage people, since they didn't train to be managers, and this leads to a lot of micromanagement.  There are also frequent organizational changes leading to many management changes.  It is not unusual to report to several different managers during any given year due to these changes.  POWER does have some unique and fantastic perks, like Beer Fridays, company parties, opportunities to travel, frequent paid lunches, casual dress code, and various discount opportunities.  POWER also has some really great people working for it.  POWER is a great place to work for a few years and gain some experience before moving on to something better.

Are you an entry-level engineer? 
   You'll notice that there is always an Entry Level position posted on here from Power Engineers. Here's your revolving door of new hires. They are so glad to have you, and your ceiling is so high. Welcome to the team! 
   You will learn so much about their culture. Outdoor activities and so many cool things. Beer Fridays! No one dresses in flip-flops and shorts, I don't care what their website says. 
   You will receive okay training, mostly between cubicles of coworkers who are swamped. In a short time, you will be expected to perform daunting tasks under unrealistic deadlines.
    The excitement to have you on board is all to keep you turning in work as fast as you can. You are replaceable, and they will do so without blinking an eye. If you're a new grad, they most likely don't have to pay your unemployment. If they tell you that you need to take an additional training program to keep your job, you are actually getting fired and you are signing off on your own release. Keep a detailed record of your work. Ask what is expected of you, and what is normally acceptable for new hires. Confirm this with other employees, and print these for your record.
   If you do make it past 6 months, you will need to pass your PE exam to advance. You will go to Boise, for actual training, but you'll also have to give a presentation on a job-related topic. This is not the only time you do this. If you are exceptional at these things, you will advance and make a decent living. But, If you are exceptional at these things, why work here? Those that are really good at this job, are not happy campers.
   Do yourself a favor, take a little more time looking for a job you will enjoy. Find something you are passionate about. This is not why you went through everything imaginable to get an engineering degree. This actually feels like an extension of your worst semester.
    


POWER once had a great culture, but not now.  Bad management in both Operations & Production. Especially w/ IT and PMO. Good Ol'Boy & Fraternity system with poor leadership. If you don't kiss the ring of the new IT 'Leader', your tech career won't go anywhere in the company.  Saw that happen to 'many' people.

Make sure you have firm salary requirements.  You may not get raise or salary bump for a 'long' time.  Management keeps salary down through your annual review.  You may have done a good job, but they will keep your annual score low in order to not give you a raise.  

Your past professional knowledge means very little. They want yes men/women.  If you get a new certification, managers and leaders ask the employee to not put the certification on their email signatures or other internal documentation because of insecurities.

Also, be careful about going to HR. They are a tool of the management team.  They don't try and resolve internal issues with the employee and management; they work to drive the employee out of the organization by offering a severance package or deny unemployment + severance.  Saw that happen several times as well.  The company suffered because of this practice.

I left on my own/good terms, but at the moment, this is not a healthy or good place to work at whatsoever.  Right now, I cannot recommend it for highly professional, leadership or team driven personnel.  Hopefully, the new CEO can make effective change in the organization.

I have worked for Power - Facilities for about 4 years and plan on quitting soon.  I was hired to do project design, then worked as production CAD.  Management would never address any serious issues and allowed some the office to fall into an unprofessional circus.  Some very dedicated employees show up early and stay late while others come in late, BS for an hour then leave early for lunch.  If they like you can do no wrong - and you know the other side to that coin.  Shabby building, not enough parking and microscopic work stations sums up the office.
I learned little while here and was never approved for any training.  The company's favorite sons used all of the training money fly across the country.
The hardest part of the job was having a deadline to edit and print 300 dgn files moved up by 3 days because management wanted more time to twirl their pencils.  This forced me to work 11 hours one day and come in at 5 am the next.  No thank you for that.  Project "managers" would call up and ream you over a situation that where they had no information.
The most enjoyable part of the job (besides 5 pm) was the free t-shirts.

Spent my 8 hours preparing incredibly detailed specifications documents for various electrical engineering project proposals.  I worked with about 15 exacting professional engineers and draftsmen whose desire for perfection rivaled my own.

I learned to use my creative problem solving skills and flexibility to find innovative ways to use "word processing" to create specs which satisfied the mathematicians and the artists in the company.  

Management was good and supportive of everyone who cheerfully gave a full day's work for a full day's pay.  Co-workers were OK, though I wouldn't have spent my leisure hours with them because we had different lifestyles.  Working with them was good... we all had the same goal... the success of the company.

Hardest part of the job?  Listening to a distraught engineer who couldn't figure out how to solve some problem in design.

The most enjoyable part of the job was the daily challenge of innovation and excellence.

Pre-COVID, we were mostly office based and had moved into a newer, nicer office and had a lot of in-person collaboration. We've been at home 6 months now (and will be for a few more months) and things went a lot better than I think everyone expected, in part because the company had already started to upgrade systems for more remote work. Toughest thing is not seeing all my coworkers I enjoyed working with, but at least we have good technology to still coordinate. Probably toughest on the new hires who didn't get to see as much of the relaxed and informal culture before.

POWER is a demanding company, and some folks who just want to get by don't fit in well. The above average folks are ultimately rewarded through salary increases, great bonuses, and longer term potentially shareholder status. They are also focused on the long-term, so people who come and go after a couple years don't get a chance to experience all the benefits.

Overall a very good place to work, but can be fairly busy most of the time as they keep growing and work keeps coming. Base pay is probably a bit low, but OT is paid for engineers (unlike many other places) and makes up for it, along with performance bonuses and the work environment. If you are looking for a 9-5 and in it just for the money, it's probably not the best place, but if you want to enjoy what you do, its a great option.

There is lots of room to grow into higher positions and management fairly quickly for those who want it. Because it's growing fast, engineers are forced to be driven and self motivated to learn, but it's a fun and rewarding environment with good mentoring. Lots of work is done between offices, but I've always felt at home when visiting offices across the country (we all work well together). Things have changed a bit since I've been there (nearly tripled in size in 7-8 years), but mostly maintained the same business approach.

Some divisions are better than others.  Managers are capricious and selection is somewhat haphazard.  It can be great if you have a good manager, after that manager moves on and is replaced, your experience can become sordid.  Performance reviews are secretive and can be gratuitous in nature.  Bad managers insert goals into the evaluation that are 'stretch' goals then discredit you for not meeting them.  Salaries are based on Idaho averages and don't work well on either the west coast or east coast.  Benefit package is very good. They used to pay bonus based on the performance of the company, now bonus is based on division performance (meaning no bonus).  I didn't see any promotions taking place among the rank and file while there, so negotiate your best deal going in because that's what you'll be stuck with for a long time.

Be expected to jump through their loops for years on end. If you want to be promoted here, make sure you're part of the right "in crowd" group.  Management is poor in this organization. They choose to see things from one side in the case of disputes or disagreements. Setup to fail is common here. Most days you can here a pin drop because people know their place and role. Those who are in charge can laugh and joke. Those who have been shown their appropriate place know to CYA. That's exactly the point, a very unhealthy work atmosphere. Outsiders are frowned upon here, they prefer to hire locally. But the truth is that they can keep everyone quiet and in their place at work, but not beyond their 4 little walls outside of work. Their true reputation, by word of mouth alone, is well known. If you have a college education and/or experience, hold out and find a better career. This is a dead end.

Be careful with this company!! After being trained for a designer role for two years and eventually being promoted(without a pay increase) to a designer role and investing a lot of time and money to develop me as a designer, I was terminated, without notice!! The so called cause was lack of performance, despite having had positive performance reviews and pier reviews since starting with them! In the three and a half years working there I had three different supervisors. During my time there, five senior level engineers left to work at competing firms. It was a very unprofessional work environment and if you don't fit into their mold it will be very frustrating to say the least! In the long run they did me a favor as I went to work at a much better firm. A firm that actually cares about their people!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Engineer 29 salaries reported	$85,609 per year
Developer ii 6 salaries reported	$76,920 per year
Project manager 12 salaries reported	$127,750 per year
Project engineer 9 salaries reported	$111,536 per year
Construction manager 7 salaries reported	$130,000 per year

Working at POWER Engineers: Company Overview and Reviews

POWER Engineers

POWER Engineers Ratings

Popular jobs at POWER Engineers

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected