Working at Quest Diagnostics as a Software Developer
Pros
Quest Diagnostics had a formal documentation process that allowed me to develop documentation skills throughout the entire SDLC. Using the traceabllity matrix along with developing the test data and cases before coding became a powerful tool in creating error free robust code. Another great opportunity, software developers became full stack developers. Having this kind of control over your software allows you to develop your skills as a software developer.
Cons
Quest Diagnostics started taking away the SDLC from software developers along with the entire stack. The move from Microsoft stack to open stack was a poor choice because the old developers who had knowledge of the business did not have knowledge of the development tools and the new developer had knowledge of the development tools did not have knowledge of the business. When management convinced the business unit to go with the NichPro system they made promises that the development team could not keep. When working at Quest Diagnostics, beware of the intolerance of a diversity environment. Quest Diagnostics also had a 450 million and 225 million dollar consent decree to pay the FDA for not correcting their mistakes. The worst part about this is that employees were lied to that Quest Diagnostics was budgeted to cover the cost. They passive aggressively created excuses to fire people to reduce the cost of business. Another thing to watch out for are the Filipino girls had a nasty habit of trying to set you up with one of them. They also had a tendency to overwork their employees. Beware of the best place to work after management got the results they tried to figure out who said what. Medical laboratories are about accuracy all upper management care about was how fast the work got done not the accuracy. Watch out for those spy cameras and you will also be asked to spy on your fellow employees.