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Couldn't get out of there fast enough

Industrial Engineer
Current Employee
Has worked at Boeing for less than 1 year
August 18, 2013
2.0
Doesn't RecommendNeutral OutlookNo CEO Opinion
Pros

They pay a lot to do very little. I guess if you have no ambitions in life other than to show up to work and browse the web, this should be a great job for you.

Otherwise, it's a good job to put on your resume after working there for a couple of years, but don't get caught there for longer than that.

Cons

So many things. First, there's the hours: 6 am. What else do I need to say? And, oh yeah, be prepared to work a bunch of weekends in a row. No kidding. Boeing pays lots of overtime on weekends, so the factory workers will make sure to slack off all week so they have to work on the weekend. And guess who has to be there too? Yeah. You.

Second, the people. My goodness, the people. Everyone is really old and has been at the company for the past 30 years, so be prepared for some turn-of-the-century methodologies. You will learn nothing at this place. Don't even think about this company if your intention is to advance your intellect.

Third, the people. Did I mention the people? You will have the pleasure of being bossed around by the floor managers who usually have nothing more than a HS degree (although for some, that might be doubtful). They can't really do simple math (they will be hugely impressed when you show them the addition function in Excel) and like to manage through loud yells and grunts (usually directed at IE). They won't be your managers, but they're the ones you'll be dealing with every day. Engineering managers are usually counting the days until retirement, so don't expect any support there.

Fourth, this place will dumb you down, considerably. In retrospect, I should not have expected anything else; this is a company that has been making the same thing for the past 60 years, the same way, with the same people. So all you'll do all day is sit and enter data in Excel or Access.

PS: All I said above might not apply to some other areas within Boeing. I'm only speaking of my experiences with IE. But typically, any position that has a lot of interaction with the floor will experience similar results.

Advice to Management

I was hired as an IE.

Our job is supposedly to cut waste. Guess what? You've got huge amounts of waste.

I know you're trying to get out of the North West and the Union stranglehold, but seriously, try harder.

They are bleeding your shareholders and driving away good talent.

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