Pros: A love of the automotive industry.

Cons: Average pay, average benefits. High pressure, long hours, especially for above average performers. It is very easy to become "just a cog in a wheel." Your career opportunities depend on you and support from lower and middle engineering management, which can be arbitrary. Doing a "good job" is not sufficient. Persons who are willing to work long hours are promoted even if they are not the best candidate. The current shuffling of lower and middle-level engineering management means many of them are underqualified, or at least unexperienced, for their current job. These people revert to telling the bosses what they think they want to hear instead of what they need to hear.

Pros: Very nice and supportive people in the plant (for the most part).

Cons: You can be promised much more than you get.

Pros: Despite being over 100 years old, Ford is an up-and-coming automaker with a bright future. It's really nice to (finally) receive all the positive press and gain respect relative to peers in the industry. The executive management team is talented, bold, and willing to make difficult decisions. The strategy set forth from Alan's team is clear and spot-on: profitable growth from a global product-led revolution. And the top management really make an effort to inform employees about certain topics regarding the company which would not normally be known. The company offers very competitive benefits and salary, and has policies in place for very flexible work schedules and arrangements to help support work-life integration.

Cons: Hours can be long. The consecutive years of rightsizing the company have cut the employee base to the bare minimum necessary to operate. Thus, we're all working very hard. Some middle management at the company needs improvement, especially related to a lack of leadership. Sometimes it seems they want to pass the buck to upper management and let them decide everything. Also, promotions have been rare recently and probably will be for the near future, so career development is stalled.