Expect disappointment if you work in an engineering/manufacturing department.
Pros
1. Plenty of (mandatory) overtime 2. Decent health benefits 3. Decent starting pay 4. Diverse workforce
Cons
Most of Cree's cons are ultimately due to the fact that it is cheaper to make LEDs in China and the fact that its main manufacturing facility is really just an overgrown research lab. 1. High turnover at all levels ranging from operator to low level management--no one is happy to be working here. If they are, they are either very new or have tons of Cree stock. 2. Severely understaffed, both because of the high turnover and because of management's reluctance to hire new employees. 3. Middle managers are at best impotent and at worst active yes-men for out of touch upper management decision making. Some low level managers try their best to look out for their employees, but are usually surrounded by an aura of defeat. 4. The gym is only really usable by salaried employees working M-F 9-5. Most people are too exhausted after a 12 hour workday (or night) to gym it up and hourly employee break times are not long enough to use the gym facilities during the workday. 5. Complete lack of individualized employee development. Some classes exist, but like the gym membership they are either unusable or generic and irrelevant. 6. Rigid caste system with no promotion from within. Experienced operators interviewing for open technician positions are asked much harder and more obscure questions during their interviews than external candidates who are usually lobbed softballs. Same goes for technicians interviewed for engineering positions. Oftentimes even engineers attempting merely lateral moves are stopped by upper management. 7. Petty politics dominate the corporate landscape. Favoritism, disparate salaries for the same position, and the "divide and conquer" management style used by micro-managers with poor people skills that pits employees on the same team against each other are ubiquitous at Cree. 8. Close to zero career growth potential. 9. Live to work philosophy. 10. Profit over people. Cree is geared towards short term gain over long term investment. Advice to those offered a position in the LED chips division here: 1. If you have an engineering degree, consider other engineering offers first. There are places out there with slightly lower starting salaries, but much more growth potential. 2. If you accept the job offer, do not stop applying to other engineering opportunities. This company will not make you more marketable, so there is no point investing time here career-wise. 3. Negotiate a high starting salary. You will not be getting promotions or raises anytime soon.
