Pros
I work as an engineer at Honeywell Aerospace. This business has a significant portfolio of mechanical and electronic products that are in nearly every single airplane flying. Many employees are fascinated by aviation, have hobbies related to aviation and are generally very bright, hard working individuals. This industry requires significant optimization and so there is a great deal of satisfaction in solving tough engineering problems. Overall, here is a list of pros: - if you are on the right project (I.e. new development or research), the work is fascinating. - good opportunities for career growth and movement if you have signifiant talent (technical, management or project areas for engineering) - benefits are on par with other aerospace jobs. No pension for new hires and marginal health benefits but decent wages, 401k matching and some might like the negotiated vacation plan (you and your manager get to decide how many weeks of vacation you have each year) - Phoenix is a great city to live in if you are outdoorsy. Quality of life is pretty good in AZ with employment at Honeywell. - Honeywell has been stable and shareholders love Honeywell (ok, but I’ll get to the cons below ...)
Cons
Honeywell, as a corporation, is extremely focused on free cash flow and operating margin, which is much higher than other aerospace companies (so far ....) . This has led to some culture issues that I’ll describe here: - supply chain has been squeezed to the point of complete disfunction. Rebellion of suppliers, huge issues of quality/delivery that are managed through heroic efforts by employees. Engineering is the current scapegoat (for a variety of complex reasons). Large portions of engineering is just focused on processes and manufacturing work-arounds, dogwork with very little innovation (many are reassessing their life priorities here) - focus on reducing engineering spend: very little research, plant closure rampant, shifting work to low cost regions at an increasing pace. All companies are doing this, but Honeywell is really starving engineering at a rate that is not comparable to other companies. - limited new product development: growth story from corporate disconnected from product ... Corp focused on software-industrial and connected which is generally inappropriate for aerospace since we don’t sell to end consumer. Business unit leadership scared to provide candid feedback so we dilute scarce resources on low value mandates and have few real products in pipeline. - superficial employee engagement campaigns but gradual reduction in benefits, stagnant wages and expectations for mandatory overtime. It’s feeling very much like “1984” with the propaganda vs reality. - High attrition from retirement and disillusioned new grads when faced with the above. I would generally tell prospective new employees to carefully examine the work opportunity & product growth plans and ask yourself “what do I want to do with my career?” There are some good opportunities, but the environment is soul-sucking.