Pros
Work Life Balance is great (as a salaried, non-manager technical employee). Seldom is overtime expected and the work load is seldom overwhelming (the one exception I witnessed to this was for production-related positions which is to be expected). Employment: if you are salaried, chances are you will not ever be fired. (There are some obvious pitfalls to this practice, namely tons of deadweight). Resources: it's a big company, so there are many opportunities for professional training: technical classes such as CREO/CAD, GD&T, Green and Black Belt certifications as well as industry-specific training in material cost excellence, leadership training, etc. For the most part the content of such classes is quite good (implementation, well that's a whole different beast). Given the low overtime expectations and the stability of employment, you could say that their salary and benefit packages are appropriate.
Cons
There is no expectation for things to be done the right way. I’ll go further, there are no incentives or rewards for doing things the right way. I’ll go even further, there is a tacit and widespread hostility towards doing things the right way. The real priority is doing what you are asked to do without questioning it and being able to report that all your goals are being met. The result is an eerie mentality where the goalposts are shifted, inconsistencies are overlooked and everything that does not add up is rationalized away. Aside from the relatively few who are discontent within the organization everyone else adopts a version of ‘things are not perfect, but where are they anyway?’ and implicitly or explicitly condone the way things get done. The ensuing dynamics are those of expedient problem-solving by management in order to present a situation under control, frustration or impotent resistance by those employees unwilling or unable to overlook the duplicitousness of the whole culture and indifference or complicity by everyone else. For me, one of the most difficult consequences to live with was the lack of pride of workmanship. The norm is just to do things and not ask any questions. Further, there were very few, if any, opportunities that actually allowed for ‘good work’ to be done; most positions being tailored around unrealistic or ineffectual job descriptions, responsibilities or expectations. Another noteworthy consequence is the inability of the company to attract and retain talent. If you’re looking for motivated, talented employees looking to do good work, this is not the company for it. I met only two managers who I looked up to in my entire stay and both of them were senior managers who arrived at the company after having made their careers elsewhere and who by this point were simply finishing it off in a comfortable note prior to retirement. This is a place where mediocrity abounds. most live comfortably next to it, some fight it to no avail and yet others embrace it full-heartedly. Bottom Line: There is something to be said about stability and 40-hour-week expectations. If all you want is a ‘job’ then look no further than PACCAR. If right now what you really need is stability or a leg-up, then PACCAR is a decent bet. Just be aware of the risks and drawbacks going in. If you’re interviewing, I’d suggest you be very skeptical about any job descriptions, expectations or promised opportunities – an opportunity to fix ‘____’ means something very different inside PACCAR than outside it. So I would suggest you get as specific an answer as possible (anything that veers into the opportunity to do ‘projects’ should be are red flag). Also, do not underestimate the effect of the culture on your mental health. Even if you are a laid back, flexible person the requisite load of mental gymnastics may come to eventually affect you. I’d suggest that you assess whether there are any potential areas of conflict where you’d be uncomfortable doing things out of expediency. Try to assess which skills you’ll be able to develop no matter what and what your exit strategy will be as this place may simply suck you in into professional irrelevancy. One last note for engineers (of any kind as far as I’m concerned): Be extra careful. The foregoing advise is especially germane to any technical position in PACCAR. In most likelihood you’ll only learn things that are PACCAR-specific so that you may only be ever employable at PACCAR, especially if you are just starting out.