Pros
Operations is usually a well run group at all sites. Definitely at Lasalle. Programs engineering offers the only flexibility outside Mon/Friday WFH or 4x10 schedule.
Cons
Very limited on managers and senior leadership. A lot of people who advanced only because there was no one else or they finally had to get promoted. Everyone just regurgitates down the ladder, no real connection to driving improvement or producing anything of value. Simply getting the problem behind them is sufficient and constantly re-evaluating the same problem repeatedly despite the resources to eliminate vulnerabilities. You’ll likely be understaffed and quickly learn about the revolving door in engineering. Your manager will likely not be an engineer. The training is horrible and almost non-existent. You’ll be given a qualifications list and just to learn that there’s only one or two people who actually are fully qualified due to the constant turnover and average experience level of probably 1.5 years. You’ll be drowning in Actions that come with very little insight or help on important plant systems that you haven’t had the chance to train on. I had almost a decade of Operations training and I felt horrible for new hires. One or two member groups that likely needed 6-8 engineers but couldn’t maintain staffing because people would leave and take pay cuts over working under those conditions. If you’re young, you can do better unless you live 10 min away from the sites in the middle of nowhere. It’s not competitive anymore if you factor in 2 hour commutes everyday. A good strategy would be a year or two in and then apply somewhere better. You’ll get more pay and better working conditions without excessive emails.
