it's a job, just a job - Anonymous employee Cognizant Employee Review

2.0
8 Aug 2011
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

great people (some of them) good work schedule ( you have to stick to your work schedule, you'll always be buried with work) convenient location healthcare knowledge

Cons

big corporate policies worst possible medical plan (it's only good if you don't go to the doctor's at all) impossible to get a raise/promotion certain individuals get really great pay, most others are below market average I've been with the company for more than 5 years, I joined the company with high hope to have a career. Too many disappointments, too much frustrations, now it's just a job that barely pays my mortgage compensation: there's no chance for salary raise, you'll get 2% merit increase if you are really lucky, 2% is well below inflation. the medical insurance is one of the worst possible, if you or family member have health conditions, expect to pay up to 5000/year out of packet (2.5k deductible for family). 2-week vacation. and company policy states 5% salary increase for doubled responsibilities. it's really not about you when it comes to compensation, company doesn't care how much you do, how much responsibilities you have or how well you perform, it's a standard formula that calculates compensation. you are really just one of the 2000 employees. the more you do, the more the company will take advantage of you, there is no pay for performance. professional growth: there's no room for individual contributors to grow, there's no career path. they are not interested in giving you promotions, or talking about your career. company policy doesn't care how much past experience you have, how well you do in your position, your promotion will only be considered after 5 years in the same position, all technical promotions are decided by a EVP, who knows nothing about you. you are stuck in your position, senior titles are as high as you can go for most technical people. others company will decrease your compensation every year (lower benefits, bonuses), and management will increase your work load every day, the more you can do, the more work you'll be assigned, you are stuck being a work horse chasing after artificial deadlines, they will give you unrealistic, unreasonable deadlines, and won't listen to you, when things go wrong, you are the one they will point their fingers at. and, management will explicitly and implicitly tell you to work long hours, for free hiring 80% of people given offer turned down the offer, company is so cheap that anyone with good resume walks away.

Explore other reviews about Cognizant

5.0
27 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good projects, challenging work, lots to learn

Cons

The way the bench status is structured

1
1.0
5 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

A potential inroad into large client companies (Leave Cognizant ASAP) You aren't unemployed.

Cons

It's a body shop. Clients will view you accordingly. Contractors cannot be trusted with most tasks. You must be siloed (No room for growth) so you don't break anything. Your actual job is to fulfill gaps in the client's grunt work even if out of scope. If you don't, the hammer falls from client and Cognizant. Wages well below industry standards. 1% annual raises only exist because legally they must exist. Takes full advantage of H-1B slave system, where employees' families and homes will be thrown into a furnace if you aren't keeping Cognizant happy no matter what. Employees are complacent in their slavery. Management is just happy to get their extra crumbs and will reinforce the bad culture. C-suite is opaque. If you are familiar with India's caste system you will understand how "lessers" are treated. This also happens in a literal sense, you aren't totally safe just because you are the favored skin tone. Takes full advantage of modern white collar culture. "Your racist actions aren't actually racist if you aren't Caucasian." Expect the uphill battle to be even more steep if you're not Southeast Asian. You will hunt for your own work most of the time. Cognizant is not helpful in any regard. They exist to skim off the top and nothing else.

3
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