Pros
Over-time, time and a half over 40 hrs a week, is a possibility depending on which department you end up being placed. Pay is bi-weekly. 2 size-able, around 1 k each, are available to Continental employees every April. An employee must be employed on or before Jan. 1 thru Dec. 31 of the preceeding year to receive one of the bonuses. Continental offers medical, dental, vision, 401 k match up to 6%, tuition assistance for approved certifications/degrees, discounts with various vendors i.e., life/auto insurance, cell phone providers, plus many more. Decent production associate hourly pay if you're able to be promoted to a lead operator (average time period I've seen is at least a year of excellent employment history and a lead op. position becomes available).
Cons
I emphasize you apply with Continental thru the Texas. Workforce Commission website. DO NOT apply in person at the facility. Front door security personnel will direct you to their contracted temporary staffing agency. If hired by the temp/staffing agency, your starting pay will be only $10/hr. and way below par benefits. Then you try to work hard to get converted to Continental to realize the $2.50 hourly increase and much better benefits. I've seen a very small percentage of people get converted rather quickly, 2-3 months. But most take several months which adds up to a substantial sum plus a possible forfeiture of one of the annual bonuses every April. My conversion took 9 months costing me thousands of dollars in pay and bonuses. Even though I worked as hard or harder than everyone else on my line, I still lost several thousand dollars just because I did not know about applying directly with Continental on the Texas Workforce Commission website. I know one individual who quit a week after being hired by the temp staffing agency and immediately applied directly on the TWC website. Good for him he was hired by Continental. I thought about doing that while waiting for my conversion but I errantly believed there was a 6 month waiting period before being able to apply directly. The 12 hour day, 2 days on 2 days off 3 days on 2 days off 2 days on 3 days off work schedule is setup so that hourly production associates work 6 months out of the year, while still averaging 40 hrs per week. But 12 hour days on your feet get tiresome with no opportunity to sit, other than breaks, in most production departments. Hourly production rates can be more difficult to attain depending on your department/product line. Current hourly starting rate is $12.50/hr. Unless you are single and live with your parents or have another wage-earner in your household, the starting rate pretty much mandates getting a second /part-time job if you're unable to get over-time approved every pay period. A point of contact is an individual with lead operator responsibilities right. The point of is one level below lead operator but above line production associates. The point of contact does not receive additional hourly compensation. My lines point of contact makes the same hourly rate as I do. He does the lead operator job when the lead operator is out sick/approved time off/etc. I've seen some smaller department go without a lead operator for months.