You are valued as a person, not just a resource
Pros
Any time I think of the reason I'm still here, I think of the overall value-add services provided by the employer. Any technical industry will have its ups and downs, but what really means a lot is consistent treatment through all of that. Our leadership is compassionate but steadfast and no-bull. We have reasonable compensation (made into excellent compensation by the Employee Stock Ownership Program retirement payment), no layoffs, and solid core values and processes which make our customers trust the products we release. Employee Stock Ownership Program keeps all employees linked to the company (and their compensation) at large, so you don't tend to have the problem of "dead-weight" team-members. Work assignments have been varied and interesting. Even as a technician, I have had an opportunity to achieve recognition from experienced power engineers and software engineers here. We have an LQ (Life Quality) team, which is something unique. This means, for free, any time, you can email to get advice on health concerns and even sign up for free one-on-one counseling/coaching to work through personal planning/goals. We have also had our health insurance costs remain steady and even go down (perhaps because of the LQ Wellness options/coaching/counseling).
Cons
Career growth can be a little challenging for an hourly employee. Many of the things normally considered admirable (doing off the clock study of company educational materials) is restricted by laws outside of our control. That being said, as aforementioned, opportunities to work with (and prove yourself to) higher-up engineers abound.
