Pros
If you work hard and do well, you're fairly safe from layoff. Textron seems to do well at finding somewhere to put salary people instead of layoff. There's some recognition but it varies greatly on the quality of your manager. Some are extremely smart and well deserving of the position.
Cons
If you want to advance your career, you need to excel quickly. Promotions seem to happen to kids in there 20's within a few years of starting. Usually they're part of some leadership development program and the upper management take them under their wings. There's definitely a bias for molding youth. The performance reviews are not structured well enough and the monthly 1 on 1's are constantly skipped. Each boss will ask you to click the box saying you've been receiving your monthly reviews at the end of year, which is a blatant lie. Of course, you'll click the box not wanting to upset them during review time. Achieving anything more than a "Meets" expectations is next to impossible. The one that plays golf with the boss gets the $$$- remember that when the roster for the company tournament goes around! Negotiate hard at the start and don't get sold on the belief you'll get compensated commensurate with your performance. As a leader, if you do well, your reward is getting more piled on you. The worst part is after working all year, you're typically forced to work during the holidays while your bargaining unit employees volunteer to make triple time. They're making six figures and your salary doesn't even come close. I joined the salary world because I believed dedication, hard work and sustainable results would get you recognized. The fact is the union has better compensation and all you have to do is not get fired.
