At the Shipyard, Engineering = Technical Writing
Pros
Good people, great sense of community, flexible time off, experience at a large industrial work site, fixed promotions, close to Seattle
Cons
- If you are hired on as an engineer out of college and given the position 'Nuclear Engineer' or 'Mechanical Engineer', your job will consist solely of writing procedural documentation. The only computer applications you will use are Microsoft Word and decades old electronic databases that are not user friendly. Your days will consist of reading dry, full-text manuals and looking at poorly photocopied hand drawings from the 1960s and 70s and then using this info to write procedural maintenance documentation. There will be no math, analysis, or design work of any kind in your job. Contrary to what mgmt leads you to believe in the hiring process, there is no innovation here; only writing how to replace existing parts on old ships per Naval regulations. And in the rare instances where CAD design is needed, the shipyard opts to have the uneducated mechanics do it for whatever dumb reason. Final point here: If you stay here for long, you WILL be pigeonholed and will have a hard time finding a real engineering job in the private industry. Speaking from the standpoint of being an engineer in the private industry now, the work that is done by engineers at the shipyard would be done by those with 2 yr associates degrees anywhere else. If this all sounds fine to you then go for it, but if you have any passion for engineering whatsoever, you will hate it here. - The work spaces are bleak and severely run down. Stark white walls and tall, stained gray cubicles make up the main engineering floor. There is also no janitoral service here, so youll probably develop allergies from all the dust that has accumulated with the cubicles over the years. The cafeteria food is disgusting and unhealthy, and anywhere off site takes too long to get to, so most people just bring their lunch. - There is no parking!!! To commute you either have to shell out $100/month for a parking spot or use the public transportation that the Shipyard pays for. I opted for the latter and my work commute took me 45min each way, even though I only lived ~5 miles away. You will also have to walk a considerable amount in the cold rain no matter what. - Location of Bremerton (and the rest of Kitsap County) is an absolute pit. Male dominated, run-down, small Navy town where it constantly rains. This may get better with the approval of the foot ferry to Seattle though.
