My job...

[yellow2000S/R]

There's a topic on another forum I'm on discussing jobs so I figured I'd post my reply from there here on TeamZX2 regarding my experience so far at my new job and everybody else can post up their ups and downs of their job.


Upsides:
- Shop is completely heated and air conditioned
- Shop is VERY clean
- All floors are sealed and epoxied so any messes are easy to clean up
- After the 90 days, the benefits are nice.
- They are putting a Skid Pad and a flat area of black-top and cones behind the Collision/Refinishing shop for test drives and possibly small track days. Some of the guys in the Porsche shop race, one has his own shop and does fab work on the side. (haven't met yet).
- Everybody is cool, this includes all employees I work with, both the shop and general manager, and even the owner of the entire company.
- I work 8-5 M-F with 12-1 being lunch... leaves my nights and weekends open to do whatever.
- Booths actually get to temp they are set at... LOL We cured clear on a car the other day and left shop at 5pm while the booth was cooling. The next morning when we came in at 8am the booth was still 94*.
- 20% off labor
- Stocked parts at cost +25%, ordered parts priced by Parts Manager
- Discounts on new cars
- Used vehicles: Retail units are $1,000 over Wholesale value/Cost (whichever is greater), Wholesale cars are $500 over Wholesale/cost (whichever is greater).
- Can still trade in our current vehicles in addition to using the discounts on new / used cars.

In the middle:
- Work on Audi, BMW, Porsche, and Mercedes (various random cars once in a while)
- I work in the painting 1/3 of the building so when we cure stuff in the prep booths (cutting in jams, spot primer work) it gets warm in our portion of the shop. Prep booths get to 160-170* with only a clear plastic curtain 2" from the ground holding the heat in on the front and back.
- Pay is average-good for starting in the position I'm in.



Downsides:
- Just started on May 7th... have to have the 90 day period.
- Benefits don't start till the 90 day period is up
- I'm not 21 till the last day of this year so 401k doesn't start till then.
- Having an issue with the compressors overheating b/c the ventilation for the room they are in is lacking so we have the door open and the noise from the compressors, 2 prep booths, and 2 paint booths can be overwhelming sometimes.

[Connal]

Sounds like a great job for you.

Ok, my turn I guess.

Upsides
-Health benefits after three months.
-Salary pay, plus comision.
-Access to the body shop/service area.
-Nice cars everywhere. 53 merc, classic caddy, newer luxury cars, and the like.
-Getting to drive anything on the lot when I feel like it for "product knowledge"
-Discounts on cars and parts.
-Food. One of the office ladies always brings in food. Today was breakfast of eggs, sausage, french toast, and bacon.

Downsides
-Been a slow month. Not as many sales as usual. Not terribly slow, just slower than normal.
-My desk is right by the door. And it is always open. Plus to this is a nice breeze. Con to this is my paperwork blowing everywhere. The door isn't a standard door. It's for getting the cars in the show room.
-looky lous. The ones that want to test drive the solstice, or the g8, or the denali. We go to the trouble of getting things situated for them, they dick around in it and use some excuse not totalk numbers.

[JonsZX2SR]

The job has many benefits, excellent pay, performance bonuses, health care, 401-K with company match, no set hours as long as I keep delivering good stuff...

Best of all, there are different places I get to play. Production facilities, test lab, etc. for each of the divisions. Probably one of my favorites is a vertical testing laboratory, shown below.

http://www.teamzx2.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=640&stc=1&d=1211157062

...also known as the Otis Bristol Test Tower and QAC (Quality Assurance center.) What makes this unique is this is a 393 ft building located in an industrial park alongside 1 and two story buildings Even the local hotel is 6 stories and only about 90 ft. high.


Otis vertical testing lab (http://perceptionanalyzer.typepad.com/perception_analyzer/2004/12/otis_research_t.html)

[CraZx2ing]

Best of all, there are different places I get to play. Production facilities, test lab, etc.
Jon, what do you do?

[JonsZX2SR]

Materials and manufacturing engineer, design engineer, systems engineer...

[SMusser]

Sales Rep for Verizon Wireless.

Pros:
- Average $15+/hour (May not be much to some of you, but much better than my last job flipping burgers.)
- Discounted Plans
- Health Benefits
- Great Bosses
- Product & Coverage Sells Itself
- Daily, Weekly, And Monthly Bonuses

Cons:
- Sales Have Been Lower Recently


I couldn't be happier with my current job. I look forward to go to work everyday, which is all I can ask for.

[CraZx2ing]

Materials and manufacturing engineer, design engineer, systems engineer...

Ahhh cool. I'm a Manufacturing Supervisor at an electronics manufacturing company. We do a bunch of OEM work for other companies that don't want to run production lines, etc. Everything from ideas to finished product. I work with engineers like your self everyday of the week :).

[capitalcrew]

Deliver pizza

Pros:
get to drive a lot
listen to music I like
eat pizza I want and have drinks(FO FREE. foo.) lol
12-15 an hour depending on tips really
not hard

cons:
I HATE phones, I have a serious problem with them, and I need to answer them.
One of the guys I work with seems like he'll rip me apart if I fuck up.
I feel like no matter what I am doing I am not doing good enough
I don't know the area very well.

I hate the job really, too much stress between phones and that guy. The money is too good to pass up though.


Seriously guys, I have a problem with phones.. I don't even call my family unless I have no other option, and I don't answer the phone at home.

[CraZx2ing]

Okay, i'll play along to.

Manufacturing Supervisor @ one of the worlds largest OEM Electronic Manufacturing Service companys. We make everything from your cell phone to your printer to your router to the military's guidance systems to the medical devices in hospitals. The items might be branded HP or Nokia, or etc. I guarantee you something, possibly many things, you own was built and/or designed by my company.

My pay grade starts at $43,000 and ends at $65,000. I'm somewhere towards the bottom of that.

Pros:
-Dress code
Look presentable and wear closed toe/heal shoes on the production floor. I wear shorts or jeans and a Tee or a collared shirt.
-Salary
When we are only working 20-40 hours i watch my hourly pay fluctuate between 20 something and 40 something/hr.
-Flexibility
There arfe 2 and sometimes 3 shifts. Middle management works with you based on your needs. If there is a change in your life and you need to change hours or even jobs, they will do their best to help you.
-Advancement
I started out as a 9/hr Machine Operator. Within two years with only a diploma I am running an entire shift (upwards of 50 people depending on how busy we are) from start to finish of the processes we have.
-Get to see cool technologies before you even know about it.
-Possibility of world travel, on the company.
-Good benefits
-Weekends off
-A good amount of company events that include free food and alcohol
-LOTS of employee discounts on a lot of the items we make.
-Company Phone

Cons:
-Salary
When we are working overtime and I see my peeps bringing home over $1000/wk off a $10/hr job and I calculate my hourly pay out and see $5/hr it sucks hard core. So far this hasn't really happened to me. My most hours in a week is about 60. I average 30-40hrs/wk
-High turnover
The people I manage are typically uneducated and just looking for a paycheck. A lot of them come from temp services. Something around 2 out of 10 actually stay and make it to being an actual employee.
-High stress
When something has to ship, it has to ship. If it doesn't ship you better be ready to answer to a room full of peeps pulling in over 100k/yr.
-Nothing to do
If I am doing my job well and performing at my peak, there is really nothing for me to do. I get very bored at times waiting for a problem to pop up. Most of my focus during downtime is keeping people trained and preventing problems from popping up.


Overall, I can honestly say I love what I do. I feel rewarded and satisfied with where I'm at and with what the future holds for me at this company. I look forward to going to work everyday. I can not complain about the pay as none of my friends make even close to me, even those with degrees. I'm 23 and I've held this position just over a year now. Today is actually my wife's first day at the company.

[younglink309]

File Clerk/receptionist at an insurance agency.

PROS:

I can't really get fired.
Work is easy as crap.
I can get time off for just about anything.
My nights and weekends are always free.
I spend alot of time browsing the internet at work. (on this site, most of the time)
My bosses (everyone in the office) are very personable and easy to get along with.

CONS:

I don't make a whole lote (6.50/hr) - This isn't so bad, since i'm only 17.
I have to deal with idiots that ask me stupid questions on the phone.
I hate insurance.
I have to work with my mother.

Overall, not a bad deal, I'm getting my insurance license this fall, which will triple my income in the first year, and grow with my clientelle.. but only if I can find an agency to work with (my current bosses aren't going to give me an agent's agreement). that'll get me through college...

[slammmed]

Application Developer at the 4th or 5th(depending on who you ask) largest timeshare company in the US.

PROS:
Boss is really relaxed.
Working on enterprise solutions which I enjoy.
I can get time off for just about anything.
My nights and weekends are usually free.
Get to work with large amounts of data and complex business logic.
Ability to work from home if necessary.
20 personal days off each year, 5 more in 1.5 years
Employee use of resorts
Great health care

CONS:
Boss is really relaxed.
Dealing with old code.
Not everyone works torwards the same goal. There's alot of adhoc applications built instead of building torwards a common shared library of code. \
Pay is less than elsewhere but benefits make up for it.


Overal I love it here, it has its quirks but with the stability, the semi relaxed atmosphere and the people make it a great place to work.

[af3ll]

U.S. Air Force KC-135 Isochronal Inspection Craftsman

PROS
-Housing Allowance (My house payment is covered)
-Clothing Allowance (Uniforms and such)
-24 hour operations (Flexibility of shifts) I'm not a morning person so this definitely makes me happy to work in the afternoon
-30 days of paid leave a year (Can save up to 60 days, 75 here soon)
-Federal holidays usually off, numerous other days off
-100% tuition assistance for college
-Job training for free
-Good people to work with
-Can live in some great locations and get cheap travel around the world
-Get to stay in nice hotels while the other branches live in holes and tents (Dumb-asses).
-Medical and Dental covered
-You can retire at 20 years. You get medical and dental for life and receive half of the average of you final three years base pay for life.

CONS
-Long hours sometimes. There's no such thing as regular 8 hour work day. You can be forced to work 12 hour days for as long as they want you to.
-Can live in some bad locations (North Dakota - I did it already, it sucks)
-Bad supervision sometimes (I've had my share)

Not a bad deal in my opinion. I need to re-enlist here soon. I might as well do 20 years and retire.I'm nearing 6 1/2 now.

[The Dad]

Retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer (40% disabled), Husband, and father. Now a Management Analyst for a state agency.

Pros:
- Medical, vision, & dental paid for (combo of retired and current work benefits)
- Standard work week (7:00 - 3:30), great pay
- Still have my retirement income (pays the mortgage and then some)
- Have no direct reports (tired of supervising)
- Work gives me a variety so I'm not bored
- Got a great boss

Cons:
- No travel (why do you think I loved the Navy?)
- Stuck in an office (love to be outdoors)
- I'm still working (can't survive on just the retired pay)

U.S. Air Force KC-135 Isochronal Inspection Craftsman

Not a bad deal in my opinion. I need to re-enlist here soon. I might as well do 20 years and retire.I'm nearing 6 1/2 now. Definitely do that, you won't regret it.