Employee Review of Cerner Corp. - Check out more reviews of working at Cerner Corp.

PAY: It depends on the level of experience you have. Cerner loves to hire new college students at $30-35K. With experience, I was able to get more than $40K. It sound like a good salary when I was hired but if you do the numbers, it sucks. I averaged 55 hours of chargeable time plus 10 hours of non-chargeable time (meetings, webinars, training, etc.) and 5-10 hours of travel. I was making $11-12 an hour. I made a few extra dollars a week hording my per diem.

RESPECT: The secret of earning respect is giving respect to your managers and coworkers no matter how incompetent they are. You also can also earn respect if you sleep with someone above your pay grade.

BENEFITS: I miss their benefits. I miss the Employee Stock Purchase Program the most. Their health care benefits are average for a company their size. if you work in KC, there are plenty of on campus benefits (gym, cafeteria, etc.). You are also near North Kansas City Hospital in case you have a heart attack.
If you are single or married, there is the poon benefit.

JOB SECURITY: When I was there, I was told that Cerner never laid anyone off. That is bs. If you put in the chargeable hours, you will have a secure position. If you leave your individuality at the door, you can also maintain a position with Cerner.

WORK/LIFE BALANCE: It depends on the job. I was remote so WLB was nonexistent. I worked on site Monday-Thursday and was back home or working in the office in KC. I was also on call on the weekends, when necessary. If you are single and end up in a cool town, the balance of getting loaded every night can help. If you are married and take a job at Cerner, start looking for a divorce lawyer unless your mate travels also. That is the nature of the business.
It is not a kid friendly company because you never see them.

CAREER GROWTH: If you know how log chargeable hours that are higher than you coworkers and you are more incompetent that your supervisors, you should do well. Making your supervisor feel sexy will also help.

LOCATION: Do not take a remote position if you live in KC. You will not be allowed to work from home on Fridays. You will have to be in the office for the entire day.

CO-WORKER COMPETENCE: It is a flip of the coin. The rule for me is if I needed to know the correct answer, ask the person who is not attractive. The uglier the better.

WORK ENVIRONMENT: It is clean. You have what you need to work.

SUMMARY: I worked at Cerner 7 years ago. I am sure things have changed. I am now a consultant that works with Cerner and Epic clients. Working at Cerner for 2 years has paid many dividends for me. If you take a job with Cerner, have your 2-5 year outcome in mind. Do you want to make a career with Cerner, are you going to go into consulting, or will you use the experience to land a job somewhere else.