Boeing

Good name recognition and industry respect for working there. It shares engineering best practices across commercial and defense units.

Health benefits and 401(k) are good. Continuing education benefits are 100% prepaid; send transcript with a B after the semester is over as proof.

Starting salary is lower than other defense companies. A lot of the engineering staff is getting old. About half of them should retire or be demoted from an efficiency standpoint. There's no more pension for new hires. The unions in WA and CA are killing corporate bottom lines, which trickle to corporate financial reports and then trickle down to non-union employees. Advancement opportunities from within are difficult.

Foster internal talent.

Get tougher with unions.