Pros
Team Mentality: The belief at Fast is very much that we are all on one team, both on a micro scale on our individual project and as a whole at the company. At Fast, I have never felt like I am competing against other employees on our project or across the company, and I know that all of my coworkers want me to succeed and will help me to do so. My bosses do not pit employees against one another, I always have someone I can turn to for advice on a specific issue or with work in general, and we win (or lose) together as a team. Ownership Over my Own Work: Although we work as a team as a whole, I am still responsible for my own work and have the freedom to try things my way. Usually each employee is assigned certain parts of his or her team's work to complete and there is very little management over this work unless asked. While I check in with the client and my bosses on best practices for how to configure and code, I am given a good amount of leeway with how I complete my assigned work. The deadlines are also fairly general, with the employees usually being assigned several different tasks that are all due around the same time, rather than having my bosses constantly check in on the status of my work. I appreciate the lack of bureaucracy in the sense that they want me to try things myself with less input from them - they'd rather I ask for forgiveness later instead of asking for permission first. Relationships with Coworkers: At least on my project, all of the employees make an effort to get to know one another and spend time as a project. I feel this is especially important because we move every 1-3 years in the Motor Vehicles world, so the constant uprooting makes it difficult to maintain friendships. I was nervous about this aspect of the job when I first moved to my project right out of college, but I have made some very strong friendships with my employees. My project manager was especially committed to having events, some of which are Fast sponsored, a few times a month so that our project can bond outside of work and connect with our local community. I also have established friendships with a good group of people around my age who spend time together outside of work on at least a weekly basis. Because we are all in the same situation in that we've been uprooted from our original homes, we rely on each other for fellowship and support both in and out of work. Compensation and Benefits: Fast truly does offer some of the most generous compensation and benefits of any company I've researched that is of comparable size and industry. While we are salaried with a substantial income to begin with, Fast also compensates employees for any work over 40 hours a week. This is highly unusual for any salaried job, particularly in our industry, and while we are expected to put in long hours at some points during the project being compensated makes me feel like my work is appreciated. Our benefits package including health care, vacation and sick time is also excellent and alleviates the stress of having to worry about those aspects of everyday life. Finally, Fast takes care of all moving costs, making this part of the job much easier.
Cons
Lack of Upper Management Level Positions: For someone who is looking to rise through the ranks of management at a company, Fast may not offer the best opportunities as it has a very flat management structure. There are only three or four levels that one can progress through and the amount of time that it takes to do so varies more based on the needs of the projects than the skills of the employees. One of the biggest issues that I've seen is some of our team managers were forced into that position because they had experience at the company, not because they wanted a managerial role or possess the skills for such a job. Moving: While I don't consider it a con, moving is absolutely expected and part of the job. Anyone who will not consider relocation should potentially consider this a deal-breaker.
