truck driver

millwright

entry level laborer

electrician

service technician

Sierra-Pacific-Industries

We work in a bunch of tin sheds. burning hot summers, freezing cold winters. It's humid all the time here. Electricians wear boots, pants, long sleeve shirts, making it extra hot. 

Shift and hours change daily, so don't plan a life or anything. Going to be an electrician here? plan on working 6-7 days a week, every week, indefinitely. Expect to do a bunch of stuff not in your job description, and then get in trouble when your job isn't done, because no one can touch the electrical stuff except electricians. They don't hire enough electricians. They don't hire anyone that knows what they are doing, so almost all replacement people have 0 knowledge or experience. They are all trained by us, no schooling. Management thinks just because they hired someone and called them an electrician that they somehow now know everything. It takes 3-5 years to train someone to self sufficient status, and the average electrician is here for 7 years. As electrician, you are it. You are a 1 man show. Literally 20 difference hats you have to wear. No one wants to live out their career here. You ask for help with some things, you might get it, you might not. They don't want you to know, because once you know, you can leave! Big corporation mentality, your replaceable, except we need you to be here all the time, oh, and on call at night, weekends, holidays. Well not holidays, because you'll be expected to work on those. Machine operators get holidays off, so since they're all gone, as maintenance, your expected to work. Not just the holiday, but the whole weekend of the holiday. They can't afford to pay you what your worth, but they'll pay you endless overtime, and spend millions of dollars on things they don't need, and make you come in on what should be your days off to install them instead of enjoying your family and your life. What they need is daily SCHEDULED downtime to do proper maintenance, and proper quantity of staff to do the maintenance. 

You can schedule days to use your medical and dental benefits, but they'll give you a hard time if you take sufficient time off to use your medical and dental benefits, maybe even write you up. The benefits share of cost is like $300 for a medium sized family. benefits are ok, not great, not awful. Vacation is 1 week for years 1-3, 2 weeks for 3 to 7 years, 3 weeks 8-14 years, credited in june. It doesn't make up for all the time they steal from your family. Your employer will forget everything you ever did for them, but your family will never forget the times you weren't there. You can learn a lot of things here, everyone learns what they need to know, and get out when they can. 

Management. It's like they promote people that will lose them the most money. Lumber is so profitable, if you can lose money as a supervisor or superintendent, then you deserve a promotion. They love the blame game. Nothing is ever their fault. They like to stir the pot. Maybe they think they're creating competition, but they are just driving division. Have a problem? Open door policy. You think you just made a complaint with anonymity? Everyone is going to know it was you, and you'll be punished somehow. Safety hazards that no one fixes? and again, you'll be punished for reporting it to upper management. I get it, they hire a bunch of people that barely know how to push a broom or use a shovel and promote them up. It's a good place if you screwed up in life somewhere. 

Breakrooms and bathrooms are disgusting. They get cleaned daily, but even clean, they look disgusting. 

I joined Sierra Pacific Industries after leaving a position I loved, hoping to grow in a more enterprise-level IT environment. I was upfront in the interview about not having prior enterprise experience, but I brought 7+ years of hands-on infrastructure management and a strong problem-solving background, and they promised training and support.

Unfortunately, once I started, the on-site team was essentially just me and another staff member who was not inclined to offer much guidance. I had to learn the network with little documentation or onboarding, and the majority of the IT team was remote, based in California.

Despite this, I worked hard to build trust with local staff. I prioritized helping end-users get back to work quickly, then handled tickets after — a practical approach that earned me a lot of appreciation from colleagues. I supported a company-wide migration to Azure and followed the process I was instructed to use, only to later be told it wasn’t the preferred method — something I wasn't informed of upfront.

When I asked for help from California, due to limited on-site support, it was held against me. Communication from leadership lacked clarity, and after being left out of a team lunch and handed a disciplinary letter unexpectedly, I realized the environment was not one that fostered mutual respect or growth.

Ultimately, I felt my technical abilities were underestimated and underutilized, and when I asked directly if leadership had confidence in me, the answer was "no." That conversation led to my resignation.

I worked at Sierra Pacific “ gazelle “and unfortunately had a very negative experience overall. While the company presents itself as organized and professional, my time there was marked by poor management and a lack of effective leadership and lies…lies…lies!!!!!! 

Communication from management was often unclear and inconsistent only because one did not know how to do their job, which made it difficult to understand expectations or succeed in the role. My direct supervisor frequently struggled to provide clear direction or resolve issues, which created ongoing confusion and frustration within the team. 

One of the most concerning experiences I had was being let go just a few days before a scheduled vacation that had already been planned. The timing felt inconsiderate and reflected a lack of respect for employees and their time. Because of no work after I was assured this job was goin nowhere.

There also appeared to be a lack of confidence and leadership ability at the supervisory level. Instead of offering support or constructive guidance, interactions often left employees feeling discouraged rather than helped.

Additionally, there seemed to be little accountability when problems were raised. Concerns were not addressed in a meaningful way, and feedback did not appear to lead to improvements. This contributed to low morale and a challenging work environment.

While others may have different experiences, I personally would not recommend this workplace to someone looking for clear communication, strong leadership, and a supportive team environment.   Also, just during my time there within the first four months, five people had quit. 


As a whole, Sierra Pacific Industries is a good company to work for.  The upper management is actively involved minute by minute in the flow of production and works continually toward improving its yield.
  The work is very physical on all levels; I would not advise going there if you are looking for an easy buck.  During the time I worked there I made some good friends; the general moral is close-nit and everyone is there to accomplish the same goal.
  While working for this company I learned the value of good quality grading assessment and taking care that the units were correctly assembled and in good standard was always top priority.  As a chain puller, you are the last person to know what its contents are before it is taken to shipping to be bagged and tagged.
  The hardest part of the job is the job; much of what you do the whole time you are on shift is lifting, pushing, pulling and stooping.  Most everything you will be working with is heavy.  One should not be too concerned, if there is an occasion that a worker is in trouble, someone will be there to help out if the load becomes too great.
   When a shift performs well, or achieves a broken record the company rewards the crew with a BBQ or lunch to show appreciation for their hard work; a nice way of saying 'Thank you'.
   The pay is good to start with, and advancement offers a larger pay scale with posted job availability.

1st, they lie from the begining. Nobody works the amount of hours as advertised and you have zero control over it. 2nd, don't expect to see the nice and friendly fellas that conduct orientation or introductory after.... They are office folk and don't sweat or get dirty. 3rd does mot matter a single bit how much skill you have, how hard you work, how reliable you are, even if you have proven so, it simply doesn't mean anything, period. Seniority our weighs any and all. To the degree in which if you are low man and info is needed, even if it involves you, you will not be asked a single question nor will you be listened to. They do not care about your abilities, knowledge, intellect, or effort if you are low man. NO MATTER WHAT!!  An employee that had been there longer will ALWAYS be 1st, or Correct. And THEY KNOW THIS. 😐 Expect to encounter a third of your co-workers to do nothing more then to sabotage your employment, gor absolutely no reason. Expect a third of your co-workers to be oblivious to there surroundings, and the last third are those you need to run from... The kind that talk to you, smile at you, help you out , at the same time whispering to others negatively about you. I've struggled for months, not with the job, with the PEOPLE. In which you can't escape from, showing up doing your job, minding your own business and going home, doesn't work if a co-worker with seniority has it out for you. It's petty, unproductive and pointless. 

I've worked here for a little over half a year and have brothers that have worked here for years.  To be frank, this place is great for very specific kinds of people. If work is your life and financial security is your priority you'll love it here. The hours depend on your position but it'll at least be fulltime/overtime, and the pay is great for every position, and upper ward mobility within the company is unlike anything I've ever heard tbh. But if you aren't this kind of person, your probably not going to enjoy the experience. Alot positions will require excessive overtime, some even with weekends. They are very production driven so the work environment can be very tense and demanding. "Clean up" or as they call it now, Laborer, is the most versatile and expendable position as well as the basic entry level one. This position has a sort of "put you where we need you" mentality, in which, you may find yourself stuck in a relentlessly physically and mentally demanding position. And it's being stuck that will really ruin you. Overall, if your a working man/woman that's ready to live at work for great pay, go for it. But if you want a life outside of work and appreciate life for what it can be, I would avoid this, or at least avoid making a career out it. 

Working here you will have an extreme lack of time out of work. Kiss the time you have with family and friends goodbye. They will really squeeze every drop of profit they can out of you. Mandatory 6 day work weeks can tear you down, not just mentally, physically you don't have much time to recover (as a laborer) as a result injuries can become rampant. In which supervisors will pressure you to work through it but as is the case with many guys who have worked here you will suffer the consequences later in life. 

Yes the pay is decent. You will make big bucks but trust that you are working for every penny. Then comes the reality that without any time left outside of work - what's the point? The care for workers is  almost nonexistent here. Supervisors are out of touch. In general the way roles and positions are mapped out is terribly inefficient. 

Talked to people who have worked here for over 20 years that say it's gone down hill and are considering leaving.

The signing bonuses and severe short staff everywhere should all serve as red flags. This place seriously needs a to reconsider their business practices or the work force unionize.

This is a blue-collar, family-based, industrial lumber manufacturing environment in the heart of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Everyday is filled with sawdust-covered hard work, maintained at a consistent fast pace, and surrounded with a crew that expects nothing less.The type of work an able body can enjoy. The hardest part of the workday would be the huge crew, of often, extremely tired hard working people. It can be understood that personalities would follow suit accordingly. 

I'd have to say this job is honest and tough, with a four-season rural lifestyle to match. 
Not to mention, the location is a piece of heaven in itself, Plumas County. 

The company is reliable with what they ask of their employees and what they provide in benefits from the get-go. The management is dedicated to operating state-of-the-art facilities that compete fiercely with other manufacturing companies. Sierra Pacific continues steadily invest millions into the modification of its Quincy Division and will be providing lumber along with employment for generations to come.

the days are long sometime stressful idiots everywhere,I learned all the supervisors are basically nothing more than used car salesmen telling you what you want to hear. One every day seemed like something new changed their was a huge lack of communication no structure what so ever, like here is where you work you know what to do have at it. they work hard on their outward appearance so they look good in the public eye making donations ect.... but it is the most dysfunctional buddy system hazardous place to work because they really do not train people properly, it is left up to the employees. As long as your there every single day sick or not and help them hit their numbers and have a set of knee pads you will go up in the company.
if your single or a single parent this would be the job for you because your devoting 10 to 12 hours or more per day to be there to keep making them money,they do not care about their employees but, a lot of people think so because they buy them pizza or have a BBQ.
the most enjoyable part while being there was the people I worked with and going home.

A typical day at Sierra Pacific Industries Sonora division was physically demanding and centered almost entirely on production goals, often with little recognition for the effort employees put in. While I did gain experience in adapting under pressure and working efficiently, I felt that management lacked strong communication, consistency, and concern for employee well-being. The workplace culture was stressful, with frequent turnover and morale issues due to favoritism and limited opportunities for advancement. The hardest part of the job was trying to meet constant production demands while working long and exhausting hours, sometimes in less-than-ideal conditions. The most enjoyable part was the camaraderie with coworkers, as the support and teamwork among employees helped make the tough days more bearable.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Truck driver 832 salaries reported	$29.70 per hour
Millwright 825 salaries reported	$35.66 per hour
Entry level laborer 620 salaries reported	$22.63 per hour
Electrician 502 salaries reported	$39.55 per hour
Service technician 417 salaries reported	$30.97 per hour

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