中鼎工程股份有限公司

Colleagues have pretty good relationships (comrades-in-arms camaraderie)

A company where you can save money for retirement

You can earn more money when assigned overseas

Lots of old-timers, with too many layers of hierarchy,

With the right boss, you can learn a lot;

with the wrong boss, you’ll end up dead in the street;

you need to have strong stress tolerance—endure, endure, and endure some more.

A lousy company. Work for one month, get paid six months later. Aosa Company.

A lousy company. Work for one month, get paid six months later. Aosa Company.

Although the company provides dormitories, some require four people to share a room, so you should consider it carefully. The year-end bonus is around 2.5 months’ salary, which is average, but for a large company, it is too little.

Large companies are great for women, but for men, they are just so-so…

The company sometimes asks employees to make sacrifices, such as working 12 days and taking 2 days off. When you request leave, people will check in on you. Salary offers are basically based on how much you ask for, so if you ask for too little at the beginning, you’re in trouble. Salaries are adjusted by 3% each year; it takes 10 years of adjustments to reach the starting salary of someone else joining the company.

Sometimes you find that someone has less experience than you but earns over 10,000 more than you, which feels very unfair. Fortunately, I left early and moved to a better company for further development.

Also, there are many long-serving employees in the company who do not work and are just waiting for retirement. There is a large gap between generations: young people earn the least but do the most work. After gaining experience at this large company, you can move on to a better one.

None

They first asked the applicant to reserve a date, but then never followed up. After the applicant proactively replied several times, they ultimately said there would be no interview, causing the applicant to turn down other interview opportunities. This was extremely disrespectful.

Large conglomerates may have many affiliated companies under their umbrella and use the same 104 account. After applying for a position, applicants are required to fill out information on the company’s internal HR website. The notification is not an invitation through the job bank system and only identifies the affiliated unit. After replying to schedule a time, applicants are asked to reserve a date, but then there is no further follow-up.

Because it is a large company, it appears to have more structure and follow the Labor Standards Act.

The implementation of systems depends on people, and there is no mechanism for removing underperformers.

It is unclear how management selects and develops people. Many new graduates do not stay long, and on various salary-sharing platforms, the company is often described as a stepping stone for joining a foreign company or a place to coast until retirement.

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I. Fire Protection Design

1. Design workflow

Each project has a dedicated project manager (PE) who coordinates the work. Tasks are assigned by the project leader (LE) of the Civil Design Department to the leader of the fire protection professional group (AE), who then assigns one checking engineer (Checker) and one design engineer (Designer) from the fire protection group to take over.

After the Designer completes the work, the documents are signed off up the chain in sequence: Designer signs -> Checker signs -> AE signs -> LE (signs or merely receives) -> PE (signs or merely receives).

Depending on the AE's arrangements, a Designer may be assigned multiple projects at the same time.

2. Scope of work

Fire Protection Group, Civil Design Department:

Fire protection systems, gas extinguishing systems, fire extinguishers, and domestic water supply and drainage systems inside buildings.

References on the salary-sharing website:

April 30, 2021 – Staff

July 4, 2021 – Fire Protection Design Engineer

July 31, 2021 – Fire Protection Water Supply and Drainage Design Engineer

Fire Protection Group, Piping Department:

Fire protection system flow diagrams for the entire plant, and fire protection systems for outdoor and miscellaneous structures.

References on the salary-sharing website:

July 31, 2021 – Piping Engineer

Electrical Design Department:

There is no fire protection group, but the department is responsible for designing fire alarm systems.

References on the salary-sharing website:

May 26, 2016 – Electrical Engineer

3. Workload

Because work is assigned down the chain from the PE, LE, AE, Checker, and Designer, any level above you may affect your workload.

The biggest factor is the AE. In addition to determining whether the group has high turnover and sufficient staffing, the AE also decides:

●According to company regulations, the first three months after joining are for training. Classes should be scheduled every day, and you should not take on work or work overtime. However, the AE decides whether you will be left without guidance for three months or be pressured into taking on work.

●Under the Labor Standards Act, monthly overtime cannot exceed 46 hours, but the AE decides whether the workload you receive can actually be completed within 46 hours of overtime.

●The Designer performs the design according to the Checker's instructions. Once the Designer and Checker have signed off, it is a complete design drawing, but the AE decides whether you must redraw the entire drawing.

●When the work becomes very difficult and you hope to be assigned overseas or transferred to another department, the AE decides whether to release you.

●People who love challenges are welcome to join the Fire Protection Group of the Civil Design Department.

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II. Company Environment

1. CTC currently has two headquarters buildings. The First Headquarters Building is more conveniently located beside Zhishan MRT Station, while the Second Headquarters Building is at No. 16, Fushan Road, Beitou District, Taipei City.

2. CTC has the following subsidiaries, whose working conditions and benefits are roughly similar to those of the parent company:

Yee Ding: 7F, No. 16, Fushan Road, Beitou District, Taipei City

Wond Ding: 9F, No. 16, Fushan Road, Beitou District, Taipei City

Junn Ding: 20F, No. 366, Bo'ai 1st Road, Sanmin District, Kaohsiung City

3. Parking spaces can be rented in the company basement. Register by email with the person in charge of the Administrative and Public Relations Department, then wait in line for an available space. There are also quite a few public motorcycle parking spaces near the company.

4. The company's systems include a stationery request system. Both consumable and non-consumable items can be requested. Non-consumable items such as bookshelves are treated as leased items and must be returned after resignation.

5. The company's systems allow employees to apply for training courses. However, courses not arranged by the company do not count as working hours; if you apply for one yourself, you must find your own free time to attend it.

If you need to take courses for a professional engineer license, check whether the courses in the system have an official document number.

6. The company has a mailroom on the first floor. Personal items or online shopping orders can be shipped directly to the mailroom.

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III. Salary and Promotion

1. The company's performance reviews are conducted every September, with scores given separately by the LE and AE. The lowest 5% of final performance ratings affect the year-end bonus.

2. Each job grade has a promotion salary range. The amount of the raise upon promotion depends on whether your existing salary has already reached the range for the next job grade.

3. As job grade increases, the TOEIC threshold also rises, up to a maximum of 750.

4. Colleagues who have been there longer say that their average annual raise is 3%.

5. The allowance for a professional engineer license differs depending on whether it includes signing authority. Most people receive the allowance without signing authority: NT$15,000 per year.

6. The allowance for overseas assignments depends on the distance from the company's headquarters; overseas construction sites pay considerably more.

7. By joining the employee stock ownership association, you can use your salary to purchase company shares. The association rewards you with an additional 50% in shares, effectively increasing your compensation. The detailed rules are as follows:

●New employees may join the employee stock ownership association only after completing several months of probation.

●If you resign within two years of joining the employee stock ownership association, the company will reclaim the 50% of shares awarded as a reward.

●The subscription amount can be set at 5%, 10%, or 15% of your monthly salary.

If you're a recent graduate interested in refining, petrochemicals, or large-scale public works projects, this is a very suitable place for recent graduates to learn. From design, procurement, and project management to quality control and construction, there is plenty for you to learn. It's a great place to build experience in this industry, and the starting salary is also fairly competitive for the industry.

After you've worked here for a few years and developed some skills, your workload and responsibilities will grow exponentially, but your salary will always only be adjusted by 3–5% each year. As a result, people with some seniority start to feel that they are being paid so little for so many tasks and responsibilities, so some begin to resign because their abilities enable them to find higher-paying jobs elsewhere. This creates a significant gap in the company's workforce, with very few mid-career employees. It also means that the few mid-career employees who remain have to shoulder a very large workload. The workload and income are not proportional; the salary is just enough to keep you from starving.

I work as an engineer in the Civil Engineering and Construction Division (but not in the Structural Engineering Group).

This is my first job, and I have been here for less than four months.

So far, I haven't had to work overtime.

I think CTCI is a pretty good starting point for a fresh master's graduate in civil engineering.

The training system is well established, and there are mentors within the department whom you can ask for help.

As for the salary, the base salary is NT$40,200 plus a NT$2,400 meal allowance, which is considered high compared with small consulting firms.

In addition, after completing the three-month probationary period as a full-time employee, you can consider joining the employee stock ownership association.

Each month, it automatically uses an amount equal to 1.5 times 5%, 10%, or 15% of your salary (your choice) to purchase company stock.

(In other words, you can buy company stock at a 33.3% discount.)

A classmate from graduate school joined the company a few months after I did.

Shortly after arriving, they were assigned to put out fires by doing quantity calculations.

They have to work two additional fixed hours every day (7:30–18:30).

I heard they have to do this for three months, which is a bit puzzling.

As for my own situation, I honestly haven't thought of anything yet.

I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the supervisor who mentors me is a pretty nice person.

I'll share more after staying a few more months.

On the surface, they comply with the Labor Standards Act, but behind the scenes there are unwritten rules. Overtime on rest days is paid at only 1.67 times the regular rate; overtime exceeding 8 hours is treated as a responsibility-based system. Most unreliable.

If your engineering license is registered with CTCI, the annual allowance is only NT$15,000, which is far lower than the license allowances offered by other consulting firms or construction contractors. My advice to those with an engineering license: if you’re a recent graduate, it’s fine as a place to gain experience, but if you stay too long, salary growth is too slow. It’s better to move to another higher-paying company sooner.

High starting salary. Almost no opportunities for development. Very limited salary increases. The only benefit is probably overtime pay. Departments constantly pass the buck to one another.

CTCI follows Taiwan’s Labor Standards Act in every respect, something that more than 90% of companies in Taiwan fail to do, and this is worthy of praise. However, its salary levels are not as competitive as those at TSMC or MediaTek, so most employees who want to earn more money or advance quickly will take overseas assignments. It is also a highly internationalized company.

Most of the company’s management has worked its way up from entry-level positions, so there are relatively few of the parachuted-in, incompetent managers commonly found at large companies who have no understanding of the hardships faced by frontline employees.

Most people are very busy. You can hardly find the kind of employees commonly seen in state-owned enterprises who spend all day drinking tea, chatting, and reading newspapers, so the company is relatively lean and efficient.

My unit is in the Construction Department:

This is a job that involves long-term assignments away from home, so it can meet your need to save money. The company’s benefits are quite comprehensive, and the biggest advantage worth mentioning is that you can claim overtime pay (for contract employees or positions that are not supervisory in nature, there may be limits on the number of hours). Opportunities for internal transfers are also a major advantage, making this a company that can meet your desire for lateral development.

However, since this is a civil engineering company, there is a strong bureaucratic atmosphere internally. Because most manual work is outsourced, it is difficult for young employees to learn. Unless they have a good senior colleague to guide them, in one to two years they can learn only superficial knowledge. In addition, because there is a TOEIC threshold between contract and regular employees, many highly capable contract employees are unwilling to pass on their professional knowledge in order to protect their eligibility for contract renewal, resulting in a knowledge gap. The biggest problem, however, is still the “too many interface issues.” In recent years, the company has created too many new things, both software and hardware, without considering the adaptability of on-site personnel. For example, a particular program may be promoted at a construction site, but in the end, site users find it too complicated and continue managing things with Excel and Word.

Overall, I recommend that fresh graduates first gain one or two years of experience at another company before joining CTCI. Unless you want to change industries, this may be one of the ultimate destinations in Taiwan’s civil engineering industry.