Boeing

Boeing has numerous opportunities for growth or career diversity. You can join Boeing and find numerous opportunities within the company. Basically, if you can't find a job within the company you want to do, odds are you just aren't happy in this company.

Boeing goes to a lot of effort to keep people (sometimes too much), but it pays off in terms of stability and longevity of employees. Boeing's benefits are top-notch, its salaries are mainly fair, and the educational benefits are well beyond the rest of the industry. There is a lot of knowledge within this company, and that's very neat for an engineer.

Boeing Senior Management is almost too political – they are more like politicians than leaders.

Most managers are former engineers, which has its plusses and minuses.

There is a shrinking knowledge of good program manager skills, and that is hurting overall program execution.

I would also say that the "bean counters" are taking over. There seem to be too many people who have no idea what I do or how I do it, but who have authority to publicly criticize me for not accomplishing enough work in the time laid out for me to do it.

Finally, the St. Louis site is getting very stale and innovation is incredibly low. I imagine this site only has a few more good years left in it.

I would encourage them to reduce the number of middle managers and be more stringent in their standards for promoting managers and hiring new people.

It seems like we just hire people to meet expected "headcount." It's the notion that labor is a commodity.

It isn't.

Please be much more discreet and critical when evaluating if you want to hire someone.

Finally, give people the freedom to innovate and experiment with their ideas. Too many ideas are shot down way too early.