Pros
I started at TEI right out of college, as most do. The first 3 months are an absolute whirlwind. You don't really know what you are signing up for from the interviews or website. TEI is a hazardous waste disposal company. As an ES your job is to segregate, consolidate, and pack various chemicals (mostly at hospitals, pharmaceuticals, and colleges). It is a very technical and highly regulate industry, which I found interesting. You literally learn and interpret regulations first hand. The majority of your work is OSS (outsourcing) or Lab Packing. You don't really have a home for the first few months and bounce around to a lot of different jobs. Ask questions, help where you can (attention to detail), and DON'T COMPLAIN and you will be doing a great job. After your first 3 months you get put on accounts and have a more regular work week. You can make some good money right out of school: start at 15.50, go to 16 after you get your CDL. It will probably be about 8 to 10 months, if you are on top of your "stuff," before you get another raise bringing you to 17.50 to 18. I was bringing in about 1,200 a week, and working a lot of hours. This is basically an overview for anyone looking at TEI, hope it helps. Onto my review. TEI gives you a great chance to run jobs. If you show competence you will be given more, whether you ask for it or not. Jump on these opportunities. This is a great chance to get some managerial and team management skills. You will get lots of training. You will be sick of trainings, but most of them are extremely valuable, dense, and a great opportunity to get some spoon-fed information. Be on time, be conscious, and try to ask a good question or two at these trainings. People will notice. If you want, you can really learn some regulatory information. You will get a chemist binder with all of the information. Don't let it become a paperweight, internalize as much as you can. Clients and customers will rely on you. You will become a "point person" for many of your accounts. Let your technical know how speak for itself. Know what you don't know and know when to call someone. Managers are available. Phone calls are constantly flying at TEI. If you don't know what to do, some at TEI does. Ted Dubiel is your best friend (and a great guy) that you must have in your phone to as technical questions to. The managers do care. Everyone is really busy, but your manager wants your feedback. Chances to specialize are abound. There are a lot of projects going on. Make yourself available and offer to help on outside tasks and you will become a "point person" in the office. Take advantage of leads. I got 500 dollars for finding some additional jobs, every buck counts and account managers notice. If you stick around long enough you will get a promotion, the company is expanding quickly and it is a great opportunity if you wish to be there.
Cons
Details, details, details. You must constantly check everything. You must not assume anything at any time. If your team for the day said they grabbed the label box you better check, if you think you don't have enough paperwork get more paperwork. The office and warehouse has everything you need and regardless of how much you check you will forget something at sometime that will greatly affect the job for the day. Lack of scopes. The distance of some work sites from the office means that many jobs will not have scopes and most will have bad scopes. Make sure you know who scoped the job and correct supplies accordingly. Cliches, especially among senior chemists. Turnover is high and lots of people leave. The ES team will be skeptical until you prove your mettle. Go out of your way to help your fellow ES members and it will go a long way to grabbing beers with folks after work. High turnover means you will often have to pick up some slack, willing or not. Safety is not the top priority, but you MUST MAKE IT YOURS! If you don't feel safe you need to call someone. You need to be sure of what you are doing, and ask for help. Think three times about what you are doing, even if you are on a tight schedule. Work-life balance is not ideal. You will have many meetings at 6AM. My longest day was 19 hours, but I have had a fair share of 7 or 8 hours days as well. Things happen and it is often hard to plan for doctor or dentist appointments with a job like this. I averaged 55 to 65 hours every week. No exaggeration. Many Fridays will be spent staying in to recover from the week. Chem tests can hold you back if you are a high performer. It is very hard to break the mold you are set in. You have to wait to take some tests to get higher pay, regardless of your competencies. Women always get the $2 raise from ES 1 to ES 2. It is hard to keep women around in the industry, they are encouraged thusly. Most will not be asked to do the same work of the men. There is a lot of minutea that is beyond your control that you need to roll with. Your day is not safe until you are home. Your failing travel quicker than your triumphs. People will remember these details, be careful of the reputation you build. YOU WILL HAVE TO DRIVE TRUCKS! Personally, I didn't mind it but many people do. You need to be persistent. If you are up for a raise from ES 1 to ES 2 and you need a site visist, you need to be on top of your manager for it. Everyone is busy so make sure you take care of #1. Profits are the priority, not the environment. If you want to "do good" for the environment look elsewhere.