It's all who you know - Anonymous employee Cognizant Employee Review

2.0
Jan 19, 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This is a big company with many legacy companies and platforms under its brand. It's easy to have a good experience, and it's easy to be over worked, under paid, and miserable. I was at TriZetto long enough to experience good leadership, career growth, poor leadership and career stagnation. If you have a well connected manager who is in the good graces of the leadership (Jude + CTS), you and your team will do well. If you (or your management) is in the crosshairs, your boss will be miserable and constantly taken to task, and that will have a downstream impact on you.

Cons

Much of mid/senior (VP/SVP) leadership is a textbook case of the Peter Principle. Very expert but narrow understanding of the market, little/no strong management or mentoring capacity. Some verticals have leadership that is a fraternity culture on a good day. Others are professional slide jockeys and have not brought a dime into the company while creating significant distraction. Work/life balance is terrible. However, comp is decent in many areas. Negotiate a high starting salary- they can afford it and you'll never get it as a raise. I left because I had a bruise from beating my head against a brick wall.

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5.0
May 27, 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
3.0
Jun 17, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Cognizant can be a great place to work at. You have to be self-motivated and driven. You won't often be given a script on how to do your job well. But if you are willing to search for new opportunities, you will find success.

Cons

Just like many other tech companies, layoffs are happening all the time. This often brings many projects to a complete halt. Management never communicates when someone is laid off. And when they are laid off, they often never back fill positions, leaving existing team members working the equivalent of three jobs at once. Most teams there are skeleton crews, ensuring that they cannot reach their full potential.

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