Pros
-Learn how to deal with stress and pressure effectively. -The lab experience is OK, more on the manual labor side. -Learn how to deal with clients -Tuition reimbursement is OK if you don’t mind the contract you sign which keeps you at the company for a minimum of three years after you finish your education. I don’t think they cover much of your tuition, though. Still, there is some sort of reimbursement, even if not the best. -The people that last longer than a few months are incredible.
Cons
First, most of the positive reviews are written by management and/or corporate. This was instructed by the CEO himself and has been pointed out by several other reviews. -The most important thing, the pay- The pay is laughable for the amount of work you do at FSNS. This is easily a $20+ an hour job, and college graduates can expect to start at $12-14 an hour. The highest non-management position pays close to $18 an hour and takes at least a year and a half to receive. Moving up to management is only possible with a master’s degree, and entry level management positions are a joke. You'll be switched to a low-ball salary and will work 60 hours a week on average. Most management comes in on their days off due to not having enough time during their work week to finish various tasks. -Being adequately staffed and turnover rate- Corporate has a set "tests per person" quota that they point out frequently. This means they want a certain number of people per shift to do X number of tests per day/month. The tests per person quota is absurd. It results in the labs never being staffed adequately according to the actual workload for the day. The lab is consistently behind because of this. The only way the workload ever gets done is people pulling 60+ hour weeks repeatedly. When this issue is brought up, the same answer is always given, "We're over staffed" and/or "not working hard enough". They want the extensive workload completed daily, but how can it get done without enough people during the day to do it? No one wants to be here 12 hours every day because the company refuses to staff their labs correctly just to save money. Every positive review the company gets somehow always seems to incorporate “over time is sometimes necessary.” It’s fine to stay late at work on occasion. It happens, and most people don’t mind at all. However, there is no reason people should be pulling 60-hour weeks all the time just to get the bare minimum done. Most of the extra time you spend is finishing tests or catching things up, not even doing your extra duties or numerous other things that are left. This doesn’t even cover people calling in or PTO. If someone calls in, rarely do they get replaced by someone else. You’re simply down another person that day. Being adequately staffed is by far the biggest issue in terms of your daily workload and working 12-hour days frequently. Seemingly, the biggest factor in employee turnover is the workload and hours combined with the pay. New job duties are added frequently on top of the massive workload, and if not completed, result in write-ups. So essentially a write-up for not having enough time in the day to complete your tasks...Due to being understaffed. Since I joined the company, over 30+ people (people of all ages, 20s, 30s, 40s) have worked here for a week or less and quit. These are people with bachelor's and master’s degrees, which should tell you something important. This makes it especially difficult for senior techs, as it's a constant influx of new workers needing to be trained. With an already short staff, they also expect training to be completed...but with no extra people to do said training. New hires tend to quit a month or two into the job, leaving senior employees with all the responsibility of getting the work done, also known as mandatory overtime. -The hours- As stated, FSNS is a 24/7/365 lab. The hours are unconventional to say the least. Unless you get lucky, you will work most major holidays as well as weekends. Your shifts tend to change frequently. Your days off can change frequently. As a bonus, the CEO refuses to pay night shift (9pm), and morning shift (3am), any extra wages. The best part about this? No one is willing to work these shifts because there's simply no incentive to do so. You're expected to work 60+ hours a week and get frowned upon if you don’t as you're "not being a team player." If you leave 30 minutes late, this is normal and considered leaving on time at FSNS. Did I mention you start at $12-14 an hour? -Benefits- Awful. You're better off not having insurance than getting the benefits/packages FSNS offers. Multiple people resigned due to not being able to afford the health insurance for them and their family. -Christmas bonuses- Another joke. You get $50 if you've worked there 1 year. $150 for 2-5 years. After 5 years, it's $500. -The company itself- Not sure why management gets the short end of the stick for everything. They are instructed, by corporate, to do everything they do. Management is continuously trying to extinguish a house fire with a squirt gun. E.g. Tests per Person quota and pay rates. However, the company knows this and has been hearing the same complaints for years. They operate on employees being there a short time and then leaving. There's no future at FSNS or incentive to work there long term. -Open Door Policy- What most people say about retaliation is relatively true. Every time there is a new review posted on Glassdoor or other sites, management will go on a witch-hunt to figure out who wrote it. People have been fired for this in some states, so speak to HR at your own risk. And yes, the perfect workplace most likely doesn't exist, but FSNS is on the opposite spectrum of a "perfect place to work."