Most stressful job ever - BSI Scheme Manager/Product Expert - Medical Device
Pros
Recognized as the best notified body for the Medical Device Directive. Some of the most hardworking people I have met in my career are in BSI's Medical Device team. BSI also caters to the top medical device companies
Cons
- This is not like any other auditor or industry job. Think of it as a mathematics exam and picture yourself in a time crunch for such an exam that is a week long. Add dramatic and short-tempered upper management whose livelihoods depend on your work. That is your average work week - Poor salary and increases on a yearly basis - Lack of support from management when dealing with angry clients - Clients have unrealistic expectations and sales paint rosy pictures to client until you - the Scheme Manager deals with the situation. - US based employees have difficulty moving up the ladder as the upper management for Notified Body is based in the UK - Limited time spent for initial training. You will deal with angry clients from day one.The trainers don't have much time for training. You will be thrown to the wolves from the beginning. If you are US based, most of this will be while you are struggling behind a computer monitor. - BSI's model is based on service levels to clients. BSI is able to charge more for expedited requests, however, with headcount not being adequate people work 60-70h a week. - Increasingly, the work has become more procedural based rather than expertise based as the MHRA likes to make the Notified Bodies dance to their tunes - Company works like a consultancy. Every minute of your life has to be accounted for. That 15 minute break you took after a stressful review? You won't be able to add that as part of your supposed 40h work week. Every employee in the Medical Device team fills out a time sheet. Even assembly line workers have less micro-management. When working in the Medical Device team, you will never be able to switch off of work. Your phone is constantly buzzing with emails and phone calls and it is expected that you handle this even during your holidays and annual leave. - People are hard working, but not sociable. General health in the team is poor from the work. Broken relationships and addiction to alcohol is rampant. Don't expect to make life-long friends from an employment at BSI. - Poor infrastructure. Even my grandparent's bakery has better software systems. The additional time spent on working through software and systems glitch is not accounted as part of your work.
