Pros
Work truck which gets you from A to B, Lavish office, Vegas trip
Cons
I was hired as an entry-level Mechanical EIT. I only received about 4–5 weeks of field training instead of the standard three months before being sent to an unrelated project to assist in inspections. Occasionally, I had a few hours of office time a handful of days in a month, where my manager assigned engineering calculations with minimal guidance. I expected to receive training, but I was told to teach myself and often had to complete these jobs outside of work hours. I was also told to try learning these calculations while on site, which was difficult since my focus was on inspections. After this project, I expected to receive additional field training, but I instead spent two weeks doing office paperwork before my employment ended.
The field lead often provided little guidance despite having over 12 years of experience. Once after completing an inspection, we were packing up our gear, and I went to the bathroom. Upon my return, I briefly sat in my truck to drink some water before continuing packing my gear. When I offered to take on the report for the inspection, my initiative was dismissed, and it was suggested that I was disinterested during the inspection, even though I had actively participated and identified defects.
My assigned work truck also had a cracked windshield and bald tires that made me cautious about driving in wet conditions. I was not expecting a new truck, just one that would pass a basic safety inspection. I also reached out to HR about training support, I did not feel that my concerns were addressed.
Overall, I felt there was limited mentorship or development for new engineers. In my experience, work-life balance and on-the-job training were lacking.