Pros
- Diversity of roles, especially for engineers, which you can relatively easily move between (even though CEO said he wanted to cut down on this). From aero/mechanical, to software/electronics, across high-level systems engineering to in-depth technical roles. Can even take a move into supporting functions like sales, IT, sustainability and more. - Loads of these roles are very interesting, and within the context of really interesting products - Good & flexible work-life-balance benefits: extra hours can be banked for early friday finishes/mid-week appointments etc. Ideal if you have kids. - Varies in a company this size, but generally teams/managers/colleagues are good - nice, supportive etc - OK site facilities including cheap canteen. - Grad scheme is very good for starting an engineering career. - Probably not a bad long term career bet given resource shortages and post-Ukraine outlook on Defence...
Cons
- Pay is sub-par for defence (which itself is not great within wider non-defence and non-software companies), coupled with the two main sites being near high cost of living areas (with lots of other job opportunities). - Functional management works well for some, not so well for others. Especially with regard to the black-box that is promotions - some people seem to get fast-tracked mainly because they present counter-offers - Missiles are interesting but obviously having a job in the field makes some people not your biggest fan - IT/tech stack is frustrated by a combination of slow-moving big company and Defence security issues. Skype is still the comms tool, inter-company working is painful; MATLAB is where most of the programming is. - Other general defence industry pains: often slow and laden with beaucracy and paperwork. Company has good policies on WFH, but many programs require you to be on-site 4/5 days a week for access to secure computing (especially for technical work). Skills gained are often defence specific. - Lots of churn, even in niche/expertise areas - 3 days leave reserved for christmas, so only actually 22 to play with in the year. - No bonus for needing even the highest and intrusive levels of security clearance (unlike other defence)
