Pros
* Work with some of the industries brightest * Flexible work schedule * Better work/home balance than average * Upper quartile pay and benefits * Large scale of operations, seems like the projects you work on have a big impact * Good corporate culture, especially from R&D folks * Shareholder friendly * Team atmosphere. People typically like to pull together when you can get the backing.
Cons
* Complex sets of engineering rules and practices makes any project implementation an exercise in research * A C.Y.A. attitude among employees and management. This is both good and bad. I makes you be very thorough when designing new equipment, but that thoroughness is done so that if something does not work like it should then you have documents proving you were (should be) right. "I designed this (heat exchanger... whatever) to API, TEMA and BP standards so I don't know why it's not working. It's not my fault." Not a totally bad attitude to have because due to it 99% of things work great. * Company is in a major state of flux with employees always wondering what the BU will do next to repair its image. As employees, we are ready to move on and get this dark cloud over us gone so we can get back to safe, compliant, and profitable business operations. * Desire to be the best, but often throws lots of money to fix issues (behaviors and process) with less than optimal return on capital deployed. * More office politics (read... promotion and career molding) than I personally like. There are some people that if you cross them they can stop your career dead in its tracks. We have a saying that we work in a "glass house", so don't throw stones and don't try to hide anything because it will all come out and you'll look like a fool. * Everything you work on is a high priority and was needed yesterday. Always shuffling priorities.
