truck driver

maintenance mechanic

equipment operator

utility operator

operator

Reworld

Operations is the largest department at the facility but comes secondary to other departments. Work orders are prioritized by management so a lot of easy and simple fixes around the plant go undone (which usually lead to eventual bigger problems or an increase in physical labor). Operating shifts often run short putting more strain on the employees who do actually show up to work or those who decide not to quit. There is zero accountability, you can make friends with your immediate supervisor and not do any work your entire shift. Supervisors never check to see what work is completed so a lot of bad workers pass their responsibilities to the next shift with no recourse. Safety is a joke. If it needs to get done it gets done irregardless of safety. There’s barely any training. You are expected to learn the job from current employees. Yet with this system you wind up being trained by people who have never had any proper training at all so you learn how to maintain the watch but you’ll never learn anything about the actual equipment. Scheduling is a disaster and you can easily go over a month with no weekends off. Management has no idea how to run (newly installed) systems at operating standards. Filthy environment. You can expect to be cleaning black tar out of your nose and ears. Rats and rodents in walls yet they do a fairly good job keeping the rodent population to a minimum. Piles of ash falls down your shirt with one false movement. the job is also back breaking labor!! Tools and proper equipment are often corroded and unusable because of the ashy work environment. You have to stash hand tools if you want access to decent tools. Coworkers are friendly and hard workers. Many of them are miserable and stuck at the job after doing 15+ years. 
Covanta is a great stepping stone for the industry. The operations department is only good for about 2-3 years for experience purposes only. Definitely not a career move. Would not recommend for recent high school or technical school grads for more than that time span. Definitely do not recommend for navy veterans/nukes. 
Very unpredictable environment. An okay day can go to a horrible one in the blink of an eye. More times than not, it’s a horrible day because equipment constantly fails. There’s also very little responsibility put on the maintenance department to be cross trained yet operators are constantly put in situations where they are adjusting scrapers, realigning conveyor belts, adjusting pump packing, patching pipes, using torches and grinders, come alongs and rigging equipment with no training. Again, if it needs to get done, it gets done.

While it’s tempting just to walk away, I feel obligated to speak up about this company in hopes that it sparks positive change for the colleagues that I’m leaving behind and any new employees looking to join. 

After careful thought and consideration, I have concluded that my core values are not aligned with the dysfunctional organizational culture at Covanta.

Fortunately for me, I know my worth and I am very well aware of the value I bring to a team. I refuse to settle for any form of disrespect or maltreatment, particularly from individuals in upper management whose only credibility resides in their job title as opposed to demonstrated excellence and leadership.  I’m positive my experience isn’t an isolated one. The turnover rates and lack of employee satisfaction are further evidence of Covanta’s inability to attract, develop and retain talent. Complaints to HR are overlooked without proper resolution or accountability.

Although I enjoyed my job, I am disappointed in the treatment I received over the last few months, the salary I was given, and the severance package offered when my position was dissolved.  My evaluations have been consistently outstanding over the past 5 years, but my salary did not appropriately reflect this fact. 

Abusive Language from senior management during meetings intended to make others feel like they are beneath them or reprimanding them like children is appalling.  This type of leadership causes a snowball effect and creates tension that trickles down to every employee regardless of position.  No one is treated with respect because it starts at the top.

Internal Communication- There is a complete lack of communication within the entire company.  It takes multiple emails and copying a direct supervisor before a reply is sent.
People outside of Senior Management/Upper Management are treated like children and are constantly talked down to.  
No one listens when there is a problem and when issues are finally addressed or become extremely critical, the solutions are reactionary and temporary.  There is no clear plan for consistency.

Despite my frustration, I will always be thankful for the opportunity I have had to improve my skills and gain additional experience. Please also note that I will forever appreciate the guidance and leadership I have received from a select few people during this time.  Fortunately, they also know their worth and are no longer with the company.   Covanta does not value their employees or the dedication that some give


Cons: You are looked down on for turning down overtime despite your previous efforts to rearrange your personal schedule to work unscheduled overtime. Advancement is not a "requirement" but are looked down on when refusing advancement despite your home life situations. Nothing is set it stone. Very unorganized. Ask for a jobs description analysis sheet before taking any position here. One year down the road they can ask you to do something out of your expertise and comfort zone that was never communicated as a job task during the initial interview.
Alot of immaturity. 90% of employees here have nothing nice to say about you behind your back but act like they're your bestfriend to your face. The other 10%  here include admin,utility, and I&E. They come in, do their jobs and go home like normal people. Everyone else seems to think its part of their job to come into work and be as negative as they possibly can. That doesn't go for all shift and maintenance personnel. Certain people are very pleasant and great people to work with. Some people put more of an effort into complaining and whining than they do their actual job.

Pros: GREAT pay. Company takes people in with zero experience and trains them giving the average american a chance at making good money and supporting their family's. Alot of overtime if your into that. Bonus's. Admin thanks their employees for working holidays and brings in holiday meals for thanksgiving, Christmas, and easter. Lots of cook outs and free food when in the budget. They look out for your safety. They would rather you sit down in the ac for 10min and take a drink than kill yourself in the boiler for 2hrs

Wish I could say more but it’s just not a place for many people to work. The expectations are high which is totally fine but the pay does not meet the level of work there is. Overworked and underpaid throughout this whole entire company. While they blow massive amounts of money on unnecessary purchases, when they could give back to the employees with a raise or bonus etc. Mention tons of bonuses and extra ways we use to be able to make extra money has been cut taken away due to greed possibly. The highest earners complain while the lowest earners bust they’re rumbs to keep places going with out a peep. Give back to us employees because we deserve it. We love it here but a lot of us are making our way out. Simply because we are underpaid and overworked. Secretly I know 8 guys who are preparing they’re exit due to the extreme, dangerous, and hazardous work conditions which we don’t mind but when the pay is not adding up we can’t keep putting ourselves at risk. Please just look at the national average that employees that work at places like these make and we would all be happy if you allowed us to be in the top 75 percentile. Like I said we love it here but something has got to give. Companies going through a major change in leadership like ours would benefit from keeping they’re loyal employees. 

Tough wok every day.  Day at work at our very old facility consisted of 12 straight hours of back breaking work.  Work orders were so numerous that maintenance could not keep up and as a result, simple fixes were ignored, vital infrastructure backed up and operations crew suffered.  

I had the opportunity to talk to lots of other workers from other plants and they consistently said the pay was better along with the work at other plants.  At this facility we were way overworked and struggling daily to keep up.

However, every crew I worked on had a strong positive leader who kept the crews running effectively and the operations crews were a good bunch to work next to.  The amount of work could be looked at positively since every day had a good chance of an operations emergency or breakdown, we became well trained in all aspects of operations.  Working at a dirty, rundown plant for just one or two years will gift the patient worker with a vast knowledge set that will enable them to be a strong and confident worker at any other plant.

Despite the obvious stressful and dirty working conditions I was presented at Covanta, I learned a lot and am able to use this experience in a different industry.

If you are hourly, your pay is arguably lower than the power industry average with much more labor intensive work, stress, and limited resources. Covanta staffs light at the plant level with a heavy staff at the corporate level. Innovation is talked about, but not truly implemented or engaged in, training is limited to computer courses. If you are an hourly, the work is hard, dirty, and hours long, but there is plenty of OT to pad the wallet and the stress is limited to how well you do your job and your perspective. Plant management is stressful and unless you are among the chosen few, nothing more than a paycheck with heavy demands and few rewards outside of compensation. Limited to no potential for advancement and absolutely no respect for personal sacrifice, or dedication to your job and people. You will not get any real training or support for your work. I have received more training less than a year at my new job, than I received in 20+ years with Covanta.

The best thing about working for Covanta was the Support from your crew Team environment is strong. Everyone on shift knows the plant is in bad condition and is prone to daily failures so while it is stressful alot of the time alot of the issues happen so often it becomes the regular. Safety here is a joke though it’s preached and loosely Enforced if it needs to be done people will look the other way. The pay is great if you take the job you most likely wont leave but everything comes at a price and for myself and a few others before me the money could not keep me there. If you need a job, have a high stress tolerance, are ready to be over worked , & can deal with failing equipment on a daily basis making the work day go from great to horrible in the blink of the eye then by all means give it a shot I personally wouldn’t recomend this Job to anybody I cared about the slightest unless it was this job or unemployment. My advice if you take the job Get In do your time Get your Experience and Get out just ask any of the guys who have been there 15+ years they are stuck, Their lives are wrapped around the costant overtime money dont let that be you it was almost me.......

Working at Realworld LLC felt fast-paced and self-directed. A typical day involved independent tasks, online coordination, and staying disciplined without much supervision. I learned how to manage my time better, think more entrepreneurially, and work without constant guidance. Management focused more on results than process, which could be motivating but also hands-off at times. The workplace culture valued ambition, independence, and learning by doing, but it wasn’t very collaborative. The hardest part was the lack of structure and feedback, which made it easy to feel unsure if you were on the right track. The most enjoyable part was the flexibility and the chance to build skills at your own pace.

The short and sweet of it is that this IS the Walmart of the power industry. 
The catch phrase I can not get out of my head about this company is "save money, help the CEO live better".

I have been in the power industry for more than 15 years, this is the worse outfit I've seen to date. 
I use to work as a temp in my youth at various different plants and have taken notice to many other companies as I learned about their working culture,  to date,  not even the worse of the other companies were hyped up to be as bad as this poorly managed company has lived up to being. 

If you do not mind being lied to and treated in fairly unjust ways such as borderline human rights issues (of which I will be pursuing investigation on due to the nature of nonsense and culture of fear that has successfully been installed into my coworkers) then this might be the place for you.
Oh,  if you don't mind working in consistent fear of losing your job if you speak up, then you should apply. 

In closing, you would likely be doing yourself a favor by waiting for the next opportunity to come along.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 137 salaries reported	$56,259 per year
Maintenance mechanic 105 salaries reported	$84,085 per year
Equipment operator 95 salaries reported	$58,330 per year
Utility operator 63 salaries reported	$53,726 per year
Operator 84 salaries reported	$70,748 per year

Working at Reworld: Company Overview and Reviews

Reworld

Reworld Ratings

Popular jobs at Reworld

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected