Pros
You get an amazing feeling after you've left the company.
Cons
Training • Was given no formal training – all self-taught. Charged 20k for something I could have done better at home. • No certification or anything to show for it. • Passed interviews for placements which ended up falling through with no real explanation as to why. • Took over a month and a half to start after securing an actual placement as FDM tried to negotiate stupid rates with client. Placement • Was meant to be a Java position however ended up doing something completely different. FDM didn’t care as long as they were making money and didn’t want to place me elsewhere so as to not ruin their relationship with client ... so I was forced to carry on. • Rent is very high in central London and I was having to pay back a loan I took out to survive the unpaid period (don't want to call it training) – living like a pauper even though I was working for blue chip IB… FDM didn’t care. Try to make any reasonable requests for help and you're threatened with legal action and reminded of the "fee". Ultimately my placement ended a few months before my 2 years was up so I spent some more time back at the lovely FDM office. Treated very bad – not treated like employees and treated worse than school children. No appreciation for the hard work you put in and the sacrifices you made. Senior sales will love to tell you how hard they work for you and how you're in no position to make any requests. To top it off I was punished for forgetting Java even though FDM forced me to continue with a non development role and I was told we are expected to have carried on practicing Java outside of work. My career aspirations and complaints were ignored as long as I was making money for them and when the tables had turned they wanted to punish me for it. 2 years on and I have nothing to show for it... my career as a Java developer hasn't progressed and my only achievement is that I've filled the FDM coffers at my own expense. The reality of this company honestly comes out when a group of FDM mountees get together – everyone had their own grievances with FDM of very bad experiences or issues with the company - would rarely hear a good sentiment towards them. Most people regret ever having joined the company. Having an affiliation with FDM makes you depressed – you feel ashamed to tell fellow co-workers you’re from that place… The people running this scheme know exactly what they're doing. They are money hungry and have no morals. My advice to anyone looking to join..... DON'T! Not until they make some real changes and treat their mountees better. Will look back to this board in a few years and hopefully we have see some positive reviews.