Pros
-Work culture: very approachable and accommodating relationships between staff and managers. I've stayed here knowing its THE BEST work culture that I've seen across 4 employers. Friday catered lunch with everyone is huge. Family style interactions where people will show interest in you if you're interested in them. -Fair pay: paid overtime at 1.25 multiplier at 40.1 hrs regardless of office or site with 8% 401k matching is damn hard to beat. This market and location don't allow for $200k salaries to project engineers until you've been at it for 15+ years, but you will get paid every penny you deserve when you bill a 87 hr work week or a 41 hr week. Other benefits are typical for a small company however. -Flat structure: smaller company (80-90 employees) where everyone knows (or can know) everyone else pretty well; small partnership at the top of management, then project managers, then engineers, then co-ops/interns. People are more accommodating when they first hand see your effort and know the demand, but allowances are always made in that effort before rest. -Full ownership: lead engineers are known as the major contributors to the project, so they're fully involved from initial project planning through commissioning. There's a lot of detail to be attentive to as FAS covers part procurement, electrical/mechanical design, PLC coding and HMI design. Engineers will be involved with customer communication, scheduling and scope discussions. -Technical and Market Competency: FAS has found their niche in a variety of markets specializing in controls and robotics. Most management is very experienced and some are very technically capable. They know pitfalls, they the demand, they know the customer and they are usually very willing to provide aid/direction to their engineers. -Work variety: there's always something new to learn, and rarely are applications identical. One day can be hardware design (redlining drawings, part selection, wiring/power discussion). Next day is software design (PLC coding, HMI design/layout/graphics). The day after can be on-site or in-shop work (wiring yourself, directing electricians/maintenance, sweat/dirt, managing difficult customers/expectations). You won't always do exactly what you want to do, but you aren't likely to be slated for the same thing forever. -Cannot beat a winning combination of profitability, technical wisdom and approachable demeanors.
Cons
-Office location: my only specific complaint of FAS is its single office being located in an undesirable location that just so happens to be central for all the employees spread out over north and south Atlanta. -Project demand: there's no way to hide/alter the market demands for controls engineering. We have to be some of the smartest people in the room and the projects can be demanding in short stints (50-70 hrs/wk). It's not indefinite; there's definitely seasons of respite (40-45 hrs/wk) as well. -Travel: not only are factories not made in YOUR backyard, they're not made in desirable backyards. Jobs can demand extended time on-site, in a hotel or longer commutes. These places are not desirable destinations (big cities); they're in rural communities where land and labor are cheap. That's just the marketplace. -Little things over glamor: this workline is not always sexy or cutting edge; it's reliable hardware/software in dirty places that make others consistent money. Have to appreciate that you solved problems, pushed through a long week and made something even if it's not a Ferrari, NASA rocket or another iPhone. But you will see cool stuff and learn to wear the badge of major contributing element in your heart. -These are entirely common to industrial controls engineering however; you will see the same at every controls integrator. You will have to make peace with these aspects to thrive in this marketplace.