Pros
The $: You get paid exceptionally well. I got offered $20K MORE than I had originally asked for. As someone who recently graduated college, I was able to save a lot of money and I was living comfortably. During my time there, I received three raises. The experience: You get stretched in so many ways here and you get to wear many hats (even though you may not want to) so the experience and "fire-fighting" abilities that you gain are insurmountable. The people: The people (everyone besides senior leadership) is amazing. We struggled, vented, and fought fires together so it brought us super close. There was a mutual respect for what each other was going through at Alcami. Your increased resiliency: If you can stay here for at least a year, you can do anything. (And I don't say a year to put anyone down who didn't.....but because you get to see the promises leadership told you to get you to stay never get fulfilled quarter after quarter.....and how you were at the same spot a year ago.) With the late nights and lack of training, you get to see a side of yourself that you might've never known existed. You will become so much stronger after working here.
Cons
Where do I begin? The hours and insanity: You will work crazy hours every week, every quarter. Some companies have seasons where things are rough, but this job is in a constant crisis. And the most frustrating part is that it's so preventable. We just don't learn from our mistakes. Like, for example, how many times can you realize that you don't have enough raw materials to make a batch that you make 3 times a week?! The insanity. And when we would realize that we don't have enough, we would try to make a square fit into a circle-shaped hole. It was a mess. And you will experience this week after week. The leadership: They do not care about you. If there is a hurricane or snowstorm in Charleston, you better believe you will be asked to come in to continue operations. If you don't, you will be forced to use a PTO day for the day that you didn't come in. If you want to spend Christmas with your CHILDREN, you better believe you will get blamed for not doing enough to ensure that the whole company doesn't have to work Christmas. If you have a vacation planned for months, you better believe you will be forced to cancel it if an auditor comes unexpectedly. If you are sleeping at 2am and something goes incredibly wrong during manufacturing, you better believe you will get called (multiple times) to come drive in and fix it.....and come back to work normal hours during the next day. They just don't care, y'all. The lack of mid-level leadership courage: They will not fight for you. If they get an order from senior leadership that makes no sense and completely destroys your work-life balance, they will just nod and say it must be done. Don't expect any help from them. The HOURS (again): You will be expected to work weekends, weekdays, weeknights, and holidays. There are many departments that work 7 days a week. The schedule: *laughs hysterically*