Pros
People are nice, colleague are always willing to help - never been refused help and met anyone difficult to work with. Good holidays, which can be taken at any time- even long holidays are accepted provided twice the notice is given, so 2 days notice for 1 day holiday, 4 weeks notice for 2 week holiday. Flexible working hours - can turn up to work as late as 10 or leave as early as 2.30, as long as 38 hours is done in one week. Good starting graduate salary. Excellent training courses in engineering that can even contribute to an MSc from Bristol University. Regular performance reviews. Several engineering disciplines and career opportunities to choose from - can even have a career change within the company and go from engineering to business. Good share option bonus plans. Strong brand name so great to have on your CV. Excellent apprentice scheme, offering degree sponsorship. The company also pays for professional accreditation and annual membership to professional institutes.
Cons
Lots of cons. Salary tails off very quickly after joining as a graduate. Promotions are few and far between - long and arduous to prepare. Salary rises between promotions is small, 7 percent max. Performance related pay rise is only 0.25 percent (which is typically 100 pounds). Poor IT infrastructure with many systems (and passwords) to remember. Top heavy management structure and the number of reorganisations and functional splits leads to several interfaces and middle men/women, lending itself to poor efficiency and cost - and very frustrating to manage interfaces when accountabilities are not fully defined. There is a distinct focus on cutting corners to save cost at project level making engineering feeling somewhat short changed in be able to carry out a proper and thorough job which can only improve robust design and confidence in engineering decisions. Project management have little technical knowledge or appreciation for the problems at hand meaning budgeting for vital tasks are often underestimated. Pension offered is not as good as it used to be.
