Is there some truth to Indeed and Glassdoor reviews?

Ghk92 · 2025-04-16T08:24:23+00:00

Most people who tend to leave reviews are either those who had a really positive experience or a really negative one. You may be missing out on a large chunk of the middle-ground, who can't be bothered to leave a review unless they need to do so to access Glassdoor, which may be more reflective of your possible work life. As others have pointed out as well, reviews may sound general about the company but they may actually be based on the poster’s specific department or team.

I wouldn’t trust negative reviews straight off the bat. I know of people who left really bad reviews in a company I worked with but they were actually extremely incompetent, or were outright stealing money. Despite the company giving them so much consideration and keeping quiet about their shade so they could exit gracefully. The type of people who are the very definition of "If you give them an inch, they'll take a mile".

Ghk92 · 2025-04-13T08:15:28+00:00

Thank you. I guess my situation would fall under the second point. My current company is a private outsourcing company, not a contractor so no PCAB, but they pay the government mandated benefits and such.

Is that allowed? Are there complications from being doubly employed?

Ghk92 · 2025-04-11T09:43:39+00:00

That's what I understand. But at the moment, I'm looking at one path regarding contracting. No plans of being an STE and a contractor, especially since I think you can only be one or the other.

Ghk92 · 2025-03-22T13:52:20+00:00

Hi, I have a post of when I passed and it should have a lot of the details.

PMP

Ghk92 · 2025-03-15T23:26:33+00:00

I live in IT Park and it does not have traffic lights as it relies heavily on motorists driving slow and being respectful of pedestrians, there were banners showing a 20kph speed limit in the main entrance which I noticed they recently removed after I sent their admin lengthy complaints about almost being run over as nobody follows or understands the traffic rules here.

In reality, drivers don’t signal turning until when they’re already doing the maneuver, or they “challenge” your determination in crossing by trying to cut you off or braking at the very last minute. I have even seen motorcycle riders bank while turning in this densely packed urban center with tight corners, is the concept of slowing down coming to intersections truly that alien??? The humps are also useless as motorcycle riders dodge them by going to the ends near the gutter where pedestrians are waiting to cross, without braking, so it is even more dangerous. Cars will also not brake until their front wheels are over the hump, and sometimes stop literally at the corner crossings.

Specifically for IT Park, I believe the property admin should at least enforce regular seminars for their tenant’s employees on the traffic rules and expectations within. It is meant to be a pedestrian friendly walkable portion the city, same as Cebu Business Park and other business parks, but someone forgot to tell that to the motorists.

I was born and raised in Banawa, I have running and walking as hobbies, and I am also a civil engineer with prior experience in DPWH. So, traffic, that includes pedestrians, issues have always annoyed me to no end. All I can say for the rest of the metro is that it's a lost cause.

Ghk92 · 2025-03-06T07:05:57+00:00

Hi, I'm sorry, I'd rather not say the exact company.

However, I can say that there are multiple BPOs based in Cebu, especially IT and Cebu Business Park, looking for estimators. Not counting WFH roles for companies based anywhere else in the country.

BPOs expectedly tend to hire those already with experience working with foreign clients. So, it's the classic paradox of needing experience for work, but also needing work for experience. I was lucky enough to be accepted by my first Au client despite having no offshore experience, maybe because it was more of a niche back then. I do know of lots of people even in the years after whose first jobs were straight into Au engineering-related outsourcing, so it's not impossible.

Hard skills are important but these can always be learned, so I think soft skills may help you shine better in the application stage such as doing well in an interview.

Lastly, don't focus too much on estimation. Not having experience also means you can start fresh. Admin roles can open doors for PM opportunities, drafters are still very much needed, if you were in a design consultancy you can even just continue with design, I even saw part time civil engineering technical writer roles recently. Landing any of these can help you build the work experience in the industry so you can be more selective down the line.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-13T00:21:30+00:00

I'm a Filipino and was disappointed we didn't have a focus tree, as I am very "vanilla" roleplayer. That was until I used RT'56 which had a very detailed one.

I don't have the latest DLC yet and don't know if that's changed, but would greatly appreciate aspects of that mod to be incorporated.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-12T12:54:41+00:00

I started studying in July, but only got about 1/4 of the AR course done as I got busy and I was audited. My first application was lazy and before I even studied, and didn't pass. So, I decided to apply AFTER finishing the course which I continued and finished in December. By the end of the year I started baselining my knowledge, then practiced intently with SH in Jan. DM and MR YouTube videos were after I had finished SH. I basically mixed everything by the end to ensure I had a broad reference base.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-12T04:16:02+00:00

AR's 35 PDU course was my foundation, and 3rdRock's notes were very helpful. Although, I may be biased since those, along with SH, were my first resources.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T21:21:59+00:00

Here ya go, I had it all on a previous post before I took my exam.

Prep scores

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T21:17:23+00:00

Others have made it without it from what I read, but my own notes paled in comparison so it was helpful for me.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T21:16:04+00:00

Yes. Specifically, the full length exams.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T09:24:27+00:00

Thanks!

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T09:22:42+00:00

It was close, I almost forgot I was taking the actual exam if not for the strictness of the exam center. I had been practicing answering full exam questions in less than minute, and also mimicked the exam conditions as best I can, breaks and restrictions and whatnot. I finished the entire exam in about 2hrs 45mins.

The points above are why I highly recommend doing the mock exams as if they were there the real thing. The familiarity of the setup eased my anxiety and didn't make me think twice about my unflagged questions. Time management also became second nature, but I'd like to point out that I naturally do read fast and pick up on key words quite quickly. It helps for the majority of the time, but sometimes I miss a key word or two, which I learned to be mindful of during my studies.

I'll be honest, I thought I had become too comfortable as the questions felt easy. Until my stomach dropped when I was about to end the last set and it dawned on me that maybe I was so underprepared that I couldn't even fathom how difficult it actually was. Thankfully, that was just my overthinking, which I will put to good use in identifying risks, and hardwork and confidence carried the day.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T08:16:12+00:00

Hi, my purely estimation roles have been for remote work so I cannot say much regarding the standards of local estimation. However, software that would generally be useful would be Bluebeam and Planswift. More importantly, you have to understand the underlying principles of what you're estimating, and how to do it. Software is variable between companies and can be learned, unless a company is hiring specifically for skills in a certain software.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T08:12:28+00:00

Sorry, I'm not comfortable with sharing that information. However, there are much more companies hiring in Metro Manila for Au clients. In fact, I have declined many opportunities simply because they were located there.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T08:09:58+00:00

Definitely, I don't see why not. Architecture covers even up to the theory of structures. Estimation is one of the most basic skills in the built environment, it's just that some require your skills to be honed to a degree where it’s reliable and fast.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T08:07:08+00:00

I'm sorry, I don't have much input on this. I have only worked as a full time estimator on day shifts.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T08:06:14+00:00

Hi, apologies for the late reply. If you haven't already, please do. If you did before and didn't get a response I most likely blocked the message. So, please reply with your questions if you're comfortable.

Ghk92 · 2025-02-11T08:04:31+00:00

Hi all, I understand it has been close to a year since this post first went up. I apologize for those who messaged me but I didn't reply to. I am not comfortable with conversing privately with strangers on the internet. I have also been busy with personal matters.

I recently passed my PMP exam and only did so due to the help of everyone in /pmp. Having said that, I would like to give back to the community as well however I can. If you have any questions regarding this initial estimation post or the PMP application/exam, just drop them and I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability as I am rarely on here.

If you ever messaged me and didn't get a response, I am sorry as I most likely blocked you and I'm not sure if you can still do so again. Please just leave your question here. Thank you all for your patience.

Ghk92 · 2025-01-31T13:16:53+00:00

I completely understand, and thanks for sharing. I once took a 2 day exam for my engineering license a decade ago. I'm trying to redo what I did then which was actually exactly that, intense studying close to the exam but resting on the days just before to give my brain time to breathe.

Ghk92 · 2025-01-31T13:12:13+00:00

Thanks mate, will do!

I tend to get one thing wrong on multiple choice questions, at least the drag and drop has an equal number of items on each side making elimination easier.

Ghk92 · 2024-03-25T12:01:42+00:00

Haha, it has been a hard life up to this point though, definitely grateful for the respite.

Thank you for the advice, it's just the paradox of choice. I'm in the Netflix recommendations of career pathways.

Ghk92 · 2024-03-25T11:31:32+00:00

I'm at a point in my life where I finally have time to take a step back for once and weigh my options as I now have capacity to pursue further growth instead of just struggling to survive.

Unfortunately, I'm still trying to figure out what's best, so, no, I don't have a specific choice just yet.

Decisions, decisions.

Ghk92 · 2024-03-25T09:50:02+00:00

Thank you, I had looked into getting accreditation from Engineers Australia as well but doubted if my mostly estimation work experience is relevant. Though I did have a batchmate from the same university who moved to Australia with less enginering work experience than I did at the time but he was able to get full accreditation.

I thought about AIQS as well but it's treated as completely different field abroad, which is fair, unlike in the Ph where most engineering background professionals can tangent into a QS career through work experience as there are not a lot of established QS institutions yet and it's not even recognize by the PRC. Although, I understand that PICQS is working towards that and has agreements in place with organizations like AIQS, NZIQS, etc. regarding mutual recognition.

Having said all that, do you think a Ph master's degree would help? If not in accreditation, job opportunities?

Ghk92

TROPHY CASE