Pros
(Rotational program) - Diversity of work, so you get a lot of exposure to different jobs/tasks/skillsets within a relatively short amount of time. - Diversity of environment: many teams, managers, cleanrooms/labs, offices, and towns/areas to get to know. Very few people get to see so much in just 2 years. - Exposure to different technologies: nitinol devices, catheters, textiles, and all their accompanying softwares. - Only one of my 4 managers was a micromanager. - Decent benefits and pay, except for the pay relative to California cost of living. - $7k relocation bonus every 6 months - Good work-life balance, unless you're an overachiever or have a hardass manager. - I made some good friends with engineers my age at each site. - Most employees overall are quite friendly and hardworking.
Cons
- No clear timeline or indication of paths/prerequisites to promotion or career-building after the program (after 2 years) - Annual raises are only 3%, which is pretty bad given inflation - Not much incentive for high performance; just some practically meaningless certificates. The only way you will get a generous salary is if you have an offer from another company you're willing to leave for. - Lots of turnover: some of it because of layoffs/firing of underperforming employees, but mostly people leaving for higher-paying, less stressful jobs. - Hardly any communication from upper management to engineers. - Inflexible work schedules for most teams/sites -- I never got to work remotely or hybrid. - Little effort in training / onboarding -- more learn-as-you-go - Engineers are salaried so sometimes (rarely) you're expected to stay late, particularly for meeting ship dates. - Contract manufacturing is very shipment-focused and revenue-focused. There's little care for interesting new developments since everything is on a tight deadline for delivery. Not much care for making a fun office culture.
