project manager

engineer

ecologist

shift leader

geotechnical engineer

Stantec

If you are a narcissist, extremely dishonest, and completely incompetent, the Buildings Group management team in Vancouver will view you favourably and promote you. Promotions can be based on extreme favouritism, having an inappropriate relationship with your manager, collusion and a management team who act oblivious to all of this. This disreputable group should be shown the door for their irresponsible behavior. Do not promote those whose only interests are their job title, being abusive towards their staff and lording it over others. Upper management needs to wake up to this and take action.

The new work stations in Vancouver are so cramped that you can't even review a set of drawings as the desk is so miniature. This greedy company, to appease the shareholders who are numero uno here, are trying to maximize the amount of staff they can squeeze into the work space. It is to the point of being absolutely absurd and ridiculous and could be likened to a modern-day sweatshop.

If you are an older worker this is certainly not the place for you. Management treats older workers appallingly, will terminate them callously, and favours younger, inexperienced workers for promotions. The "Emerging Leaders" program that they had should be considered discriminatory.

The annual review program is a joke and a complete waste of time. Do not expect that it will assist you with your professional development or advancement within the company. Management can even use it as a tool against you.

Utilization is a huge priority here. You are able to view your utilization throughout the year which can be a source of great stress when it begins to drop. If you don't have a steady workload into the foreseeable future, get your resume updated, as they will lay you off, often very abruptly and coldly. If you are given a severance package, don't accept it without first seeking legal advice, as it will be the bare minimum they think they can get away with. 

This company creates toxic and demoralizing work environments and should be avoided at all costs. Forget about what they say: "We put people first" and "We do what is right". These statements could not be further from the truth.

If you already work here, good luck to you. I offer you my sincere condolences.

While projects were often interesting and dynamic, workload could be very inconsistent. In our office in particular, work was usually consistent between the summer months until December and then VERY busy from the new year until the end of March. After the end of the federal fiscal year the office and workload was almost non-existent and there were months where I had almost no work to do. This wouldn’t be such a problem if you are not paid almost exclusively based on project work and performance wasn’t based on charge-ability, which in turn is measured solely on hours of project or chargeable work. While the team I worked on was large, it seemed like many did not want to share workload which made coming up with hours difficult. Overtime hours can be banked for the future but I tended to only get those when doing field work and as a predominantly office staff with no personal vehicle this could be hard to come by. 

While we were provided with a decent benefits package, salaries were quite low in comparison to the average for my title and geographic area, and the largest raise I ever received was about $0.80/hour. The real kicker though was how often we were told our business centre was doing well and that the company was growing, however this was never reflected in employee wages. Additionally, new, less experienced staff, were often hired at starting wages greater than existing staff.

During my time with the company we had considerable turnover in the junior level staff largely due to salary and the fact that there didn’t really seem to be much opportunity for advancement. Stantec may be a good company to start a career in environmental consulting but it may not prove to be the best if one is looking to start and maintain a long term career there.

Stantec is a large engineering house that offers great opportunities for recent grads, and is an excellent place to start a career.  

As one gets experience, vertical advancement is limited, and it is not difficult to become pigeon-holed into a position that one demonstrates proficiency in.  In business, this is understandable,to keep the top producers doing what they're good at...day after day...after day.  You will be worked hard and the workplace stress is palpable for middle managers.  It is always worth reminding yourself that "i signed up for this".

If you did not start your career as a recent grad with Stantec to learn their impressive bureaucracy, quickly identify a mentor to learn from.  New hires receive limited instruction (all webinars) and for advanced tasks such as revenue recognition, write-off, earned value analysis ect.., you're on your own to learn their systems.  Unfortunately there are times where it feels like the battles fought with internal administrators are far larger than the struggles experienced with difficult clients...but that's part of the territory.

Stantec is very candid about the bottom line.  At the time of hiring, intermediate project managers / engineers will be warned that in the event of a downturn, layoffs will occur.  This leads to an unsettling employment start, which should not be forgotten for the duration of employment.  In boom times, this caution obviously becomes a bit irrelevant, but never make an assumption that based on your utilization/performace to date, you won't be considered for layoff if the backlog gets below a certain threshold.

On the bright side, the larger Stantec centers retain large interesting, high-profile projects.  The experience gained by working on such projects is definitely marketable.

My experience at Stantec was disappointing due to poor management, weak mentorship, and lack of support for junior/intermediate staff development. The company promotes growth and collaboration externally, but in practice, employee experience depends entirely on the team lead you are assigned to.

Management quality was inconsistent, communication was poor, and there was very little effort made to help younger staff build technical skills or progress professionally. During slower periods, work was not distributed fairly or proactively, which resulted in low utilization scores despite staff being available and willing to work. This created unnecessary stress and concerns around job security.

The environment often felt reactive and blame-focused rather than supportive. Instead of investing in employee development, staff were expected to figure things out themselves with limited guidance. Morale within the team suffered because of lack of leadership, transparency, and accountability.

The company does offer good project exposure and looks strong on a resume, but the internal culture in some groups can be discouraging and unsupportive, especially for early-career professionals trying to learn and grow; which could give a false impression on the job itself and force you to consider other career paths. 

LAND DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS - GENERAL


Several (Atleast half a dozen projects) land development projects  ranging from a total area of 500 acres to 2000 acres were managed by myself and were carried out on time and budget that include but not limited to determining the subdivisions, number and type of housing, planning and determining the number of lots for all detached and semi detached homes. With the land development projects come an important aspect of carrying out all the required work for all infrastructure and municipal services such as roads, bridges, culverts, water mains, sewers and sewage pumping stations.

Land development projects begins with a very important component and dedicated work of land surveying then modeling the complete site for the necessary earth works and grading which include massive and expensive earth works with the use of costly heavy earth work equipment and therefore, optimization is a must in order to keep the housing prices under control.

The selection of the type and size of houses is chosen and determined based on the area, type of potential house holds and finally the cost that should be affordable to existing buyers. Good and attractive marketing can play an important role to attract buyers and growth in the development area.

Currently, I am working and managing The DJ Johnson land development project that include a total area of 750 acres which will total to  about 1000 detached and semi detached homes with all the necessary infrastructure and municipal services.

Work at Stantec Consulting Ltd. involves a mixture of field and office work, often with both in the same day.  Generation and manipulation of large and small data sets are common activities.  Performance of field work requires development of logistical and troubleshooting skills in situations involving limited or remote supervision.  

Work at Stantec is often performed alone or in small groups of people coming from highly diverse educational and personal backgrounds.  This diverse atmosphere gives employess the opportunity to work on a variety of projects, in many different fields.The office culture is relaxed and informal, with safety being an integral portion of both work and home life.  
 
While field work at Stantec is sometimes the most frustrating part of the job, it can also be the most rewarding.  When planned work encounters difficulties in the field, it can often mean long and intense hours spent trying to resolve the complication.  The discovery of a solution to said complication is very educational, and satisfying.  When a project goes according to plan, or even it doesn't, one of the most satisfying parts of combined office and field work is to see a project through from the very beginning (the performance of the field work) to the completed product (a report for Alberta Environment, or graphs or charts from the completed manipulation of a data set),  

I worked for this company for 5 years and can honestly say that the only positive outcome of the experience was the exposure to many different types of projects and clients.  Unless you are in management, you can expect to be underpaid and to not receive wage increases to account for cost of living expenses, as this money is instead given to management in the form of annual bonuses.  As with many consulting firms, a good work-life balance is not support or encouraged and quite often you are expected to work a great deal of overtime.  There is very little appreciate or gratitude expressed by management for a job well done, and they are likely to take the credit from the client.  There is also little to no job security if you aren't in management.  I left on my own terms, however I saw countless people get laid off as soon as things got slow, which was almost every year.

Unfortunately, all of these things, combined with a lack of internal promotion creates a very poor workplace culture.  The office environment at the Guelph, Waterloo and Stoney Creek offices is very quiet, and you can expect to not have a lot of positive interaction with others.

My advice for you is that if you are early on in your career, use this as a stepping stone to something better.  Take what you can from the experience, but don't get caught up with the empty promises of advancing your career with this company.

Working as an engineer at Stantec was a rewarding experience, marked by a welcoming and inclusive company culture. From the first day, I felt like part of a team that genuinely valued collaboration and innovation. The leadership at Stantec fosters a supportive environment, ensuring that employees at all levels feel heard and encouraged to share their ideas.

The benefits package was impressive, offering competitive healthcare, retirement plans, and various wellness programs. This not only demonstrated the company's commitment to employee well-being but also helped create a strong work-life balance. Additionally, Stantec promoted continuous learning and professional development, providing opportunities for engineers to enhance their skills and advance their careers.

The organization itself was extremely well-run. Project workflows were efficient, and teams were structured to maximize productivity while maintaining a focus on quality. Communication between departments was seamless, and the management team consistently demonstrated strong decision-making and leadership abilities.

Overall, my time at Stantec was both professionally fulfilling and personally enriching. The combination of a positive company culture, excellent benefits, and an efficiently run organization made it a great place to work as an engineer. I would highly recommend Stantec to anyone seeking a dynamic and supportive environment in which to grow their engineering career.



I worked at Stantec for about 5 years. The management always felt like they were in over their heads (at a Department and Corporate level). There was a poor culture of being overworked and underpaid and that if you weren't pushing 100% utilization you were not working hard enough. My Stantec assigned mentor even suggested NOT advocating for better pay or pursuing advancement opportunities and just "keeping my head down". I was paid well below the 25th percentile for engineers the majority of my time at Stantec (for a long time my salary didn't even register on the APEGA salary survey). When brought up leadership would simply shrug, keeping in mind that my billing rate was 6x my salary. I wish I had left earlier.

Ultimately my utilization slipped below 85% due to lack of work and I was laid off. I was shocked to see that within two months they had posted to hire a replacement, presumably for even cheaper than the below market value they were paying me.

I think Stantec really depends on the group you are in, mine was dysfunctional but somehow they have retained and promoted many of the poor leaders.

Wouldn't recommend Stantec to any prospective employees, but I will say if you do take a position make sure you advocate HARD for yourself and have an exit strategy.

This was my first time working the the field as an employee rather than as a volunteer. I always felt safe to express my concerns and felt comfortable in my work environment.

I learned how to manage my time, how to prepare for bad weather conditions, and the traveling made me a wonderful driver. Also, I become very familiar with the paperwork that needed to be done when environmental assessments are conducted.

Everyday, I was doing something different. I spent a lot of time traveling to my field work, but then also spent days in the office doing paper work. 

I learned how to be responsible for myself in the setting of a large company. I learned how to do my own expenses, rent cars for myself, and what was expected in a field environment whether I was working alone or with others.

I enjoyed working with everyone at Stantec. I got to meet and collaborate people on all levels.

There weren't many aspects of this job that I found hard. I felt physically challenged in the field at times, but I enjoyed what I accomplished.

The most enjoyable part of my experience at Stantec was learning the different aspect to environmental assessments, and feeling like I was making a difference in my own community.

Overall, this position trained me to be an exceptional field worker.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Project manager 8 salaries reported	$106,300 per year
Engineer 3 salaries reported	$105,263 per year
Ecologist 11 salaries reported	$115,750 per year
Shift leader 10 salaries reported	$195,150 per year
Geotechnical engineer 1 salary reported	$112,450 per year

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