A perfect company to stay away from! - Principal Architect Cognizant Employee Review

1.0
Oct 22, 2009
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

For young and inexperienced professionals it's a great chance to see the US. CTS got the low-value staff augmentation game nailed!

Cons

I am a non-Indian, US-based consulting executive with an Ivy League advanced degree and over 17 years of professional experience. CTS lured me with empty promises of consulting excellence from a Big-4 competitor over 3 years ago. There is no way to be promoted unless you are a yes-man on the leash tied to an account manager. I am currently on a layoff list because I refuse to relocated on a whim of inexperienced, short-sighted and self-serving account managers and insist on travelling to client engagements. CTS will not pay expenses for employee travel and will not bill clients for expenses since expense amounts impact their PERCEIVED profitability! This is a joke of a company. If you are an experienced professional - stay away from CTS!!!

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5.0
Apr 5, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

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Cons

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1.0
Jan 27, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Cognizant paid decently well and the people from smaller acquired companies were great.

Cons

The culture at Cognizant was extremely negative. Lots of empty promises about company structure, bonuses, everything. Employees were constantly told things that were completely untrue. We were told we'd be paid out bonuses at certain times and then have to continue asking for them months later. But, if you leave prior to the annual bonus actually being paid, you do not receive your bonus. Cognizant did not provide a service that I felt good about selling. We were required to include offshore resources who did not have the proper training, skill, or knowledge to complete projects they were placed on. It was a disgusting feeling to sell sub-par work that I tried to avoid at all cost. Cognizant led meetings were comprised of around 75 people sometimes for calls that my previous company would handle (better) with 2-3. Presentation and proposal decks would reach 150+slides that absolutely no customer would ever review. These meetings and proposals were a complete waste of time and money. Many Cognizant employees were not good team players. They would attempt to blame others for mistakes they had made even when there was a clear trail pointing to the truth. All in all, it was a very sad experience to be with a phenomenal company for years prior to being acquired by Cognizant, only to watch the amazing culture we had built be completely destroyed. I am very happy to not be associated with Cognizant anymore and I'd recommend anybody considering to go elsewhere.

4
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