associate consultant

senior consultant

mechanical engineer

consultant

lead consultant

My experience with this company was disorganization and manipulation. I was recently furloughed due to a supposed lack of work. I see now in my job search that they have posted a position similar to the position I have been furloughed from. I believe the real reason that I was furloughed is because I have a mental health disorder and I had to take some FMLA leave and I have been having other health issues that I had to take time off from work. I was under the impression that using FMLA was job protection when one has to miss work due to a health condition. It became clear as I was trying to file my claim for my FMLA that mental health issues were not regarded as an actual health issue and I feel that this is the reason that I was furloughed. The management was dishonest and led me to believe I had a future and was doing a good job, there was absolutely no organization to anything, and the training was horrible when I started. The workplace was like being in high school again and there were times I felt intimidated and taken advantage of, being expected to work into all hours of the night because of a managers disorganization. I initially thought this company was a good one but my experience has been horrible and I would not recommend working here unless you know someone in management. Being good at your job is not enough here if you do not fit the personality type and are not the cookie cutter person that they want in their office. 

-Disaster response requires speed and availability.  Be available to ship out within 24hrs of being called.  Once on-site, work sun-up to sun-down everyday until the victims in your area have been processed, then move to the next area and start again.

-Being a part of the solution rather than just watching people suffer on tv was extremely gratifying to me.  You will be a part of bringing much-needed help to a lot of people.

-Sometimes, even you document everything perfectly, someone you're sure needs and deserves help will get turned down.  Sometimes several people in a row.  For me, that was tough on morale.

-Standards are constantly morphing and changing between and within emergencies.  QA follow-up on your inspections will sometimes disagrees with how your manager told you to do things, or even with how your previous QA inspector told you it should be done.  At the end of the day, someone will think you are doing your work wrong.

-Compensation - I would pull in 10k+ per month in the field.  It's not easy money.  But if you're willing to put in 80hr weeks, it's there (assuming you get called out in the first place)

It is a great place for part-time, on-call employment, but for the very poor hands-on training. They have many online classes and other classroom seminars which are all very good. But, their on-site and on-the-job training is very poor and needing much improvement.

Understandably this training is difficult in midst of a FEMA disaster response, but needs to be done anyway. Otherwise employees are sent out with inadequate individualized, hands-on, in-the-field training (again, their classroom and online training is great). This poor in-the-field training leads to many unnecessary mistakes, lower quality inspections, and FEMA dissatisfaction.

The issue is that their field managers are overloaded with trainees and supervisory responsibilities. Individualized training in this context is all talk and little action. This leads to lowered employee morale and performance.

The point is: great classroom training is not enough. Each trainee--in my view--should trail an experienced inspector for two weeks prior to going off alone. This one issue would greatly improve inspection quality and FEMA satisfaction.

Another issue is the VERY tedious and lengthy on-boarding process.

All companies have problems, as do all employees. The bottom line is to be aware of this training issue if you decide to work for WSP.

Being able to help all the people in need was very satisfying to me. I started out in Kingwood after the training classes in Denton. I worked with a supervisor for a week & then got transferred to the Bellaire Meyerland area.They were hit really hard after Harvey. To some people, this was their first flood. I did my job & inspected most of the applications that were assigned to me. I did run across some cases that were fraudulent. Others simply changed their minds when they found out it wasn't just a simple check from the gov't that was being handed to them. For the most part, I dealt with honest people.

Puerto Rico was very different. The island was ravished by Irma & Maria. It will be many years before it fully recovers. The island is part of the U.S. but most think that it is its own Republic. Interestingly enough though, I found people who wanted to make sure I had a good meal before inspecting their home. This, by no means, swayed my decision. All I ever reported was my findings & I was never bribed. My job doesn't allow it & I loved my job. My company didn't allow for days off during deployment but they did allow for winding down a day a few hours early. Probably the best part of the job was working in the tropics. The hardest part was not being bilingual but that all changed once I got a translator. I would definitely work for them again when the need arises.

I was part of the team at Wood when it was acquired by WSP. During this transition, I observed several challenges that impacted the integration process and employee experience. The integration of Wood into WSP appeared to lack clear direction. Management faced difficulties in effectively merging the two organizations, leading to uncertainty among employees. This was compounded by a perceived lack of support for staff at various levels. As a GIS Specialist, I was committed to mentoring younger staff and supporting their career growth, yet this approach was often discouraged due to an intense focus on utilization targets. There was a clear misalignment between my personal commitment to fostering professional development and the company's emphasis on meeting ambitious, and sometimes unrealistic, utilization goals. There was a noticeable departure of key talent from Wood during this period, which may have affected team dynamics and project continuity. Following the acquisition, there were changes to employee benefits that were not clearly communicated. This lack of transparency led to confusion and dissatisfaction among staff.



a typical day at work involves management all having their own directives but none of them coincide with each other.  I believe I learned not to be delusional about a company being so large and global because most likely they're going to treat you like you're insignificant.  Management has no idea what they're doing One project manager knew nothing about customer service or call center The other one was not even familiar with the territory and was oblivious to how far some employees drove just to get to work for such little pay from such a huge company.  Workplace culture is atrocious people except employment because they are promised a pipe dream of advancement but the truth is you have to be buddy buddy with the manager to get ahead so it's not how hard you work it's who you know or you have a friend that gets up in management and then brings you along over someone who truly deserves it or truly has the job knowledge and skills for advancement.  The hardest part of the job was keeping a straight face when you overhear some of the dilemmas that happens and not laughing out loud including what is told to the client that are totally lies.  The most enjoyable part of the job was leaving this place not even the pay was worth the stress.

WSP is no better or worse probably than most consulting companies.  The employees must hit their individual utilization targets or the company doesn't make the profit it forecasts.  WSP emphasizes employee utilization a great deal which creates constant stress on everyone.    WSP has a history of hiring without having enough billable work for the new employee to do; so that person is under pressure right away.
WSP may claim they value their employees and good customer service the most, but utilization trumps them both. 
It can be hit and miss on whether you'll get an interesting project to work on.  If you are interviewing make sure you ask about the projects you will be working on.  If it doesn't sound like what you want,  try somewhere else. 
WSP now uses the agile workspace model for their offices and require people to come in the office at least 2 to 3 days per week.  It's a sign of changing times.  This can make it difficult for younger employees to get the mentoring they need. It also makes the office space feel much less personal than having your own desk to work at. 

Spent several years at MMM (Geomatics dept. in Ontario which was acquired by WSP about 3 years ago. What a demise! From a highly respected professional company with solid management and revered professional peers, to a struggling business quickly losing ground and constantly shifting focus. Currently NOT a people's company!! Financial bottom line driving every single detail. Top-heavy and full of  non-production departments and staff. What's worse, a HUGE gap between talking and delivering. Zero incentive for capable, efficient professionals who deliver excellence. Salary around or slightly under the industry average. Constant changes in strategies, departmental structure, work flows, personnel (a high turnover). No training which pertains to the core professional functions. A dangerous trend of assigning management professionals not solely based on qualifications... Let's stop there. There are still pros though - if you manage to work with experienced PMs, participate in complex and exciting engineering projects or get exposed to inter-disciplinary work.

WSP Inspections Services is on the ball.  Its hecktic times when disasters hit for the victims as well as trying to get quality inspectors to people who are in dire need of help.  WSP does a superb job of training candidates and getting them out in the field pronto.  
A typical day at work starts early in the morning, doing inspections all day and leaving the field around sundown.  Once you get back to where your bunking that night, you clean up any loose ends on the days work and call claimants until 9 or 10 pm.  You have to be self motivated and a true desire to help people but that comes easy when you witness the devistation and it can be heartbreaking.  It will surely toughen you up.  That is the hardest part, in my experience.  One day you might be in Texas and boom you get a call and two days later you might be in say Puerto Rico or St. Thomas.  I really like to work with WSP, its quite fulfulling.  Be ready to work long hours for days on end and get paid a fair wage.  It gets in your blood.

My experience at WSP was challenging due to a lack of training, support, and overall organization within the team. Throughout my time there, I often felt that I was expected to perform tasks without receiving adequate guidance or instruction. My manager was frequently unavailable for training, which made it difficult to develop new skills or gain confidence in my role. The work environment also felt disorganized, and communication was often inconsistent. In addition, I encountered behavior from certain colleagues that I found unprofessional and discouraging, creating an uncomfortable atmosphere. During periods when I was dealing with personal and family health concerns, I did not feel supported or shown much empathy. Although I attempted to raise concerns and seek solutions, promised follow-up discussions never occurred. Ultimately, the combination of limited training, poor communication, lack of support, and workplace culture made the position a poor fit for my professional growth and well-being.

I would avoid like the plague 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Associate consultant 3 salaries reported	$80,000 per year
Senior consultant 6 salaries reported	$113,717 per year
Mechanical engineer 3 salaries reported	$89,000 per year
Consultant 3 salaries reported	$85,000 per year
Lead consultant 3 salaries reported	$122,000 per year

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