Pros
If you are looking for a place to flex your muscle resolving problems, you'll be very happy here and build your strengths every day. The work-life balance is probably better than the industry average. We start the day late compared to everyone else in the semiconductor business. You get plenty of sick time and vacation time, management doesn't actively manage it, so you can take off almost anytime you want with no repercussions. Diverse work force, many different cultures and lots of interactions with people from all over the world. Very qualified engineers with a variety of scientific backgrounds and expertise. Many new engineers with freshly printed degrees and lots of optimism. Leading edge technology with high-end customers and huge demand for wafer output. We are VERY busy at Fab8.
Cons
Unqualified managers all over the place. Multiple process modules promoting their favorite maintenance techs to manager (or a kid with 12 months experience), with no real training nor managerial educational prerequisite fulfillment. Module shift managers are consistently unqualified throughout the building, most are either angry techs who were about to quit or shift "engineers" who see the fastest route to 6 figures is to take the shift manager job. Mid-level managers, many also unqualified and first-time leaders, also have no idea how to lead technical teams or engineers. PMTS and SMTS, leaders of engineering, are sidelined to purely individual contributor rolls, often working for (managed by) an unqualified, uneducated person and the results are high turn over, poor performance, a culture of no accountability and discontent. The modules themselves work as individual silos, as they do in any dysfunctional manufacturing site. The lines are clearly drawn between ops, engineering, maintenance and support organizations and grenades get thrown by all sides. Micro management is the rule of the day in this environment of tactical mayhem, which ensues every morning around 8AM until 5PM. While engineers spend all their time making reports and filling out forms for support organizations, the opportunities to be strategic fall to the weigh-side as panic and incompetence destroys productivity and the people who know the correct direction are either ignored or have given up all hope and say nothing. Meanwhile, as we breath in the poisoned air shooting out the exhaust stacks, because a multitude of abatement systems remain broken, in bypass or shut down, the news continues to be all positive about the greatness of Fab8. I'd call the EPA but they wouldn't care and we all know it. This is either due to corruption, an incredible level of ignorance and/or the worst case of sycophantic leadership in history (as a recent employee "goodbye" email suggests). One thing for sure, bringing in a management team stuck in the 1970's from Fishkill is only making it worse. A few months ago, all of the company values and mission statement posters were removed from all of the conference rooms and hallways. I guess we can give management credit for do that, at least the lies are no longer hanging in your face every day anymore.