thirdgenlxi Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Well I've been working here for Ford as a dealer tech (mostly diesel trucks) for the past 11.5 years now..... I've enjoyed the actual work but sick and tired of all the BS that goes with it.... mainly getting paid flat rate, and never knowing if I'm actually gonna have a paycheck or not. Basically getting tired of working for free This new job has actually been a loooong time in the making.... I had originally interviewed there almost 2 years ago, in the spring of 2013. I already knew that this particular company is hard as hell to get into and takes a looong time. But we were proceeding forward, but they don't generally hire outright, and they sent it through a temp service (a place I absolutely hate) as kind of a part time temp to hire. But I jumped through all their hoops, waited 5 months and finally was gonna start. They knew I had to keep my current job during the week since they wouldn't hire me on full time, and then wouldn't work with me at all on the one saturday a month where the schedules overlap by a couple hours. So I pretty much said screw it and just forgot about it as I was so frustrated with dealing with them at that point. Then completely out of the blue, a year and a half later, the original engineer that I had first interviewed with back in the spring called me and said he'd like to get me back in there. He said they're weren't going through the temp service this time and that they WOULD work with my schedule. So I went in and did the math and mechanical aptitude tests that they require, drug tests, paperwork, and finally had the new hire orientation this past tuesday, so everything is done and I'm ready to go. Scheduled to start bright and early tomorrow morning (sat) at 7 am. Only gonna be doing sat and sun for now 12 hrs each, and then a couple hours at night during the week as I'll still be working both jobs for awhile until we know it's a good fit and I like it and everything before I quit where I'm at now. So I'm pretty excited.... a little nervous as I'm getting into something completely new, but we'll see how it goes. The company is supposed to be fantastic to work for.... known around town as being "THE" place to work. The pay is very good, starting off it's only a couple dollars less than what I'm making on flat rate, and it's hourly..... so a steady income. And compared to the 5 days of PTO time I started off with here, I get 17 the first year at the new place.... definitely can't complain about that, lol. Among many others as well The company is Continental Teves, if anybody has ever heard of them (HUUUGE worldwide company). This particular plant makes hydraulic control unit boxes for ABS/stability control systems for just about every auto manufacturer out there. Including many of the vehicles I currently work on. Sooooo tomorrow is the big day.... we'll see how it goes! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Hey Jared, heartfelt congrats on the new job, hope you all take to each other and it works out splendidly! I had no idea that dealer techs had to face the possibility of no paycheck. Will you have to wear some kind of uniform? Take some pics in it with the kiddos (I hope they know you will be a bit busy for a while!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ls973800 Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 Glad to hear things appear to have worked out for you! Especially since you had basically walked away from hoping to make the switch after all of the push ups they had you do. Good luck and best wishes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdgenlxi Posted January 29, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 (edited) That's great! Glad you had a good first day, always a bit daunting, good thing you got a buddy there. Absolutely! Having him helped out tremendously..... I'm very shy so going into place completely new and now knowing anybody can be a bit overwhelming for me (which is why I usually hate first days) Anyways, quick update.... 4 days in and all is well..... going great! I did the 2 12 hour days on the weekends, and now I'm going in for a couple hours 3 nights a week after I get off the other job (it's right across the street, lol). So I met some new people this week working with the 2nd shift crew. Everybody I've met has been super cool, the one main guy on our line on 2nd shift has been there a loooong long time and is probably one of the most calm, laid back people you could ever meet..... very very good for explaining things (much like my buddy is on the weekends). Everybody I've met there so far has been awesome..... it's a very positive atmosphere and everybody seems happy. I have yet to come across anybody that doesn't seem happy there..... so that's a good sign. I'm really liking it though.... it' definitely a LOT to learn, but I'll get there eventually. They all say it takes a good solid 6 months to really get everything down.... it's not something you learn overnight But yea I'm really liking it so far..... I think it'll work out... at least I hope so Oh and did I mention the best part?? Covered bike only parking right at the main entrance! There' even a metal plate on the pavement the whole way across for kickstands. I like it! Of course I seem to be the only one riding there in January.... oh well Edited January 29, 2015 by thirdgenlxi 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WWWPerfA_ZN0W Posted January 29, 2015 Report Share Posted January 29, 2015 Takes me back to the arrival of Nautilus equipment at the big ole gym So neat to work at a place like this! Do they operate by clean room standards? CNC machining on site? I see you are exercising your mechanical skills already And covered bike parking to boot! Yeah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thirdgenlxi Posted January 30, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2015 (edited) Takes me back to the arrival of Nautilus equipment at the big ole gym So neat to work at a place like this! Do they operate by clean room standards? CNC machining on site? I see you are exercising your mechanical skills already And covered bike parking to boot! Yeah! Yup, the entire production area is a clean room.... we have to wear lab coat looking gowns and hair nets. It also has a special floor that conducts electricity and then the floor is grounded, and we have to wear either heel straps on regular shoes (which has a little strap that has to touch your skin), or special ESD shoes. Both will transfer any static discharge electricity in your body down through the shoes to the floor, to dissipate electricity as you walk instead of it building up in your body. With all the electronic modules we handle, we could fry a module without ever even feeling the shock. It's kept at 70 or 72 degrees (I forget which one it was) year round to keep all the computers happy, and all the air is filtered so everything stays nice and clean. Definitely a much MUCH cleaner job all around than what I do now, which is much better for my own health.... definitely happy about that I'm not for sure about the CNC machining just yet..... we do have a machine shop somewhere in the plant, but I haven't been over there yet, so I'm not sure if there's a CNC in there or not. It's a really cool place though...... I'd really hate to think about just how much $$ is under this one roof. Supposedly just the one line that I'm working on is $30 million alone, and that's a pretty small part of the whole plant And yea the bike parking is definitely a huge plus!! Edited January 30, 2015 by thirdgenlxi 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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