Ah...okay. People being nice doesn't make up for poor management. Unfortunately, where I was, I had a poor manager and their manager was also bad. Please note that this does not mean the entire company is like this. There are great managers who are competent, ambitious and are true leaders. Where I was, not so much unfortunately, and this colored my experience at SEL. The only bright spots were my co-workers and the wonderful customers I had the pleasure of helping out with their technical issues with our products.
Due to my experience, I was in a very high stress environment, dealt with drama instigated by management, and really...I did not see the values as given by SEL within my particular department. It was sad as my co-workers were and are the most hardworking individuals I have ever met. However, none of their work was ever acknowledged by management, and credit was taken by management for my co-worker's hard work. Of course, there is no way to go to HR as you cannot remain safely anonymous as "ownership" of feedback is big at SEL. And while I understand that, people are people, and people are vindictive and they will "make you pay". I seen it in my department all the time. One manager may be OK with constructive feedback, while another will make your life hell because they are insecure themselves.
You just kept your mouth shut, put on a mask, and suck it up if you wanted to survive
So I left SEL because of poor, incompetent management in my department. As living with a mask and acting like you are OK is no way to go through life. I want to be happy, 100% me and have no fear of backlash if I have viable concerns about how people are being treated. I been there long enough, saw no way out, and I was just so tired of it.
But I must say that to those who chastise those say that SEL is not a great place to work, from where I was before and where I am now, SEL is an OK place to work. If you never worked anywhere else, how would you know another place is better? There are better places to work than SEL...and I thank God that I am now in such a place.
Please be aware that there is a double standard when it comes to non-engineers and engineer positions. Engineers who are in the "circle" can treat you like crap, throw stuff at you, laugh and still be OK with everyone. You try it, and you are on a PIP or gone mysteriously the next day.
Finally, for those who have issue with nepotism, yeah, Dr. Schweitzer's family does work here for the most part. However, it is his company. So echoing the thoughts of another poster, if it bothers you, then don't work here.
However, I had more pressing issues than worrying about nepotism...like psychotic department "managers".
