electrician

supervisor

general mechanic

data entry clerk

house supervisor

Alcoa

I was with my last company for a little over five years and in the same department throughout. A typical day at work for me would be to handle all daily tasks first, then move onto crucial, moment in time matters. Daily tasks included reviews on customer accounts, respond to all emails and phone messages from the evening prior, supply lien releases after researching the job to ensure it has been paid; also process credit memo's and work on claims that may arise from bad material being shipped to one of our customers. My main job was collections and I often had many job duties that had to be complete prior to reviewing past due activity to call on. On the claims, for example, if the customer had a material issue they would not be paying us and this is where I came in. Both the customer and our internal customer service team would try to let our department know.
Often I would follow up with phone calls concerning the solution of the claims. I learned that collections is difficult, especially soft collections (working with the same customers every month), and not something that fits my personality too well, although I was highly successful. The hardest part would be when the customers could not pay. These were customers we talked with every month, and many of them considered us their lifeline for their work. If they could not pay I had to place their account on a credit hold, not allowing any material to ship to them, nor to be produced. For an override, any agreements always had to be approved by management and was very time consuming. There were times where our credit hold for payment may be over ridden by our production team who needed to ship material off their docks and prevent safety hazards. Sometimes customers would get lucky in this sense one month, but not the next, and would not understand why.
The most enjoyable part of the job was all the excel spreadsheets I would create for my department. We might decide to gather information for a report to better analyze certain areas of productivity. Creating tables that would pull all the necessary information from different files, and sometimes creating new reports through JDEdwards, (the system our company used in every area - order entry, accounting, IT, etc) was a creative and often difficult task I always enjoyed. I was a team lead in my Credit department and would often join in on group discussions about how to improve the quality of our work performance and efficiency. I always looked for better processes and put many new procedures into place in the five years I spent with this company.

I worked at Alcoa for about three years. During that time, I had three different managers, four different job titles, and two different teams, all while doing essentially the same job. That gives you an idea of how much change this organization goes through, even before Covid.

Alcoa is jam-packed full of great people. That said, they struggle with retention, resulting in two types of employees:  those who have been there for three weeks, and those that have been there for three decades, nothing in between.

During my time there, I witnessed several rounds of layoffs. VPs are not immune. There were many moments when a normally stable job felt risky. Their budget peaks and valleys along with the volatile market, and there's nothing you can do but go with it.

Certainly not all of it was bad of course. I really enjoyed the flexibility of the work, the office environment, and the overall culture. Alcoa is not a competitive place, so the corporate politics are a little more mild than most places I've worked before.

One of the most controversial things about working for Alcoa is the total lack of performance management. There are no ratings or reviews. At a glance this is a great thing, but it also serves to reward mediocrity. You can work as little or as hard as you like -- you will never be recognized for good work and very rarely penalized for bad work.

Your manager (and their manager) will have all the control over how the organization promotes you, or not. If you end up with one of the many good managers at this company, great! But you could also end up like me with a manager who wasn't really that interested in my personal or professional development and had no obligation to spend any time thinking about it. The reality is that this is an organization that transparently picks favorites, and you won't be going too far unless you happen to be one of them.

Alcoa pays an average wage for the area, but this is also very dependent on your leadership. Make sure you negotiate high when you start working there, or you will never make up the gap, as they cap off how high of a raise they will give you at once. Annual raises are average for the area and not dependent on performance.

Overall, I liked working for Alcoa, flaws and all. Just be aware that this is an old-school company with old-school ways of thinking, and you're not going to be able to change that. They will treat you well, and with average benefits and PTO you'll probably be happy enough, at least for a while.

Review of emergency break downs and access if further work is required.  

Maintain a backlog of work orders, review of work requests, and development of work orders to maintain capital assets.  

Work with operations to seek issues that inhibit production, "bad actors".  Interface with operations management & floor personnel.

Develop RFQ's for spare parts from suppliers.  Work with suppliers in crossing legacy parts to newer technology/models.

Work with suppliers on specialty products or equipment specifications.

Purchase parts, equipment, & services.

Develop work packages including detailed scopes of work, job tasks, parts listings including tools, equipment, & permits required to perform tasks.

Interface with craft personnel and maintenance supervisors to seek improvements with the product I produce. 

Develop weekly schedules, including scheduling of maintenance work orders, PM's and follow-ups to PdM findings and coordinate scheduling with operations personnel.

Work with storeroom operations to review legacy parts and remove from inventory, if required.  Review inventory levels to ensure adequate levels to prevent stock-outs.  Set-up of new spare parts into inventory.

Plan for major unit outages/shutdowns/turnarounds.

Investigate equipment issues and develop expense projects including selection/specification of equipment & controls interface.

Provide assistance to craft personnel in the field as required to troubleshoot and perform maintenance tasks.

Respond to urgent equipment issues and assist in the coordination of repairs to reduce down-time and production loss. 

Develop contractor scopes of work to obtain proposals.  Review of contractor proposals to ensure they meet scope requirements.

Coordinate and conduct field follow-up on contractor's work to ensure scope of work is adhered to.  

Track metrics associated with budget, work order completion, required follow-ups.

Participate in the capital expenditure process.  Provide input on engineering specifications, plant requirements, scheduling of installation, and coordination of outages that will affect overall operations.  

Act as the site functional administrator for CMMS/eAM system.

I joined Alcoa about six months ago and it has been a very positive experience. I work on a virtual global team and although we are spread out all over we have become close. 

Some companies have mission statements and vision statements that they write up during some off campus leadership retreat for senior managers as part of an exercise. The words sound nice but not grounded in the reality of the day-to-day actual working experience. They never really are activated at the employee level. They just are put on a shelf where they get dusty. That does not seem to be the case with Alcoa. 

Alcoa works hard to live their values and that is refreshing to me. It is authentic. They work hard to be inclusive. As a past victim of discrimination in the workplace I appreciate that.

It is an organization that is growing and going through a lot of positive changes. I enjoy being a part of that. Although I realize that change can be challenging for those who may be used to the older work processes. Change, even when it is for betterment can still be scary for many as it represents the unknown.

I work with nice people. We work hard but we work together to make things happen. Caring for People is one of the core values. I do feel my manager cares about how I am doing not just how I am performing. That's nice. That means a lot to me.

I started at Alcoa as production a production employee, but with just a few weeks into the job I was able to move into a more responsible role. In this new position I was able to improve my skills with numerous computer programs which are powerful tools toward the organizational, manufacturing, maintenance, clerical, and managerial segments of the company. I was in charge of inventory of goods used in all sectors of the maufacturing process, including, engineering, maintenance, process, shipping, etc. In addition, I handled the ordering & procurement of new items, such as tools, devices, components, and PPE. I was also responsible for tracking production of goods in all depertments from start to finish. Working with management mostly, I considered the process very professional and respectful. It was sometimes a tedious process to get all records recorded, parts ordered, and shipments met when trying to meet certain deadlines. After perrforming all tasks, mostly in secure areas throughout the organization, I was left with an immense feeling of accomplishment in knowing I was given such a great deal of responsibility, and I was able to keep all coworkers and upper management happy with my work.

Working in a smelter is expected to be a tough job. Working in a smelter with decades old processes? Worse than what it should be. If the company invested money into integrating new technology, not only would it be more efficient, but it would prevent injuries and make the job more enjoyable. That takes a MASSIVE investment in which the company will not make. Management is hit or miss. It's union, so until you work there long enough to get unionized, you are a nobody. You are treated as such. If your manager doesn't like you (for any reason), you had better put in for a different area fast. Seniority is everything. Get a manager that is retiring within the year? Don't expect to get any help. Workplace culture is cutthroat at times, but there is some teamwork as well. Everyone is there for the money, not because they enjoy the job. The money is definitely above average for manufacturing, but below what it should be for the risks. The schedule isn't bad, since you get many days off throughout the month, however they have forced overtime on top of already 12 hour shifts. I lost my job because my shift lead didn't like me. I was trying hard. Missed work due to COVID symptoms (when COVID was still fairly new, summer of 2020) and my father having an accident. They don't care WHY you missed work, even if it should have been excused. I got fired less than a week before I was to be unionized and "fully" hired in. My father ended up dying the next month. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
I have worked for this company for 23 years and nd for the most part.  This job that you have to do every day are not so bad.  It’s just all of the politics that go on out there.  If you are friends with the higher up’s and management.  You can get away with anything.  But no matter how good your Work ethics and performance is,  if the powers at be don’t like you. Your days are numbered till you are gone.   They will get rid of people who are great workers and keep some people from being fired if you are buddy buddies with them.   I’m sorry to report this but after all my years of service to Howmet they fire me over having a coffee cup in my department.   When there was likely several people who had RT-44 cups in the department.  Left a bit of bad taste in my mouth 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
They crack the whip on people daily to get a certain quota of parts done.   And they always have a saying that.   If u don’t like it….  There’s the door.   They look for any excuse to fire people.  

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Low to medium morale.  There always hurry hurry hurry.   Stand around at times like a vulture waiting and watching you work 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Clock in and get to the work area and run run run from that moment till you clock out

Being a worldwide aluminum producer in today's economy has challenges. As a production facility you are always looking for ways to cut cost and show profits. At my current facility, our biggest responsibility is making sure the power going to the aluminum smelter is at the lowest cost possible and I think our current management does a great job. The company and union work very well together to achieve budget goals to stay in business and employed. Most days are routine and the generation units are producing maximum generation, smelter pot lines are in full operation and all is good. Some days generation units trip offline and its pretty chaotic. We have to switch pot lines from the 15KV switch yard to the 138KV switch yard, report all problems to our transmission operators and our generation trader to comply with MISO, NERC and FERC Standards. Those are the hard days, but having those days teaches me how maximum generation and the production process works and why it is so important to do my job with discipline and attention to detail because every action I make is critical to Warrick Operations. Knowing that what I do makes a huge impact on the entire operation, gives me personal enjoyment and pride to work for Alcoa INC.

Very difficult and challenging place to work if you are a company employee. Training is trial-by-fire, idiocy in management who prefer to harrass and intimidate with a never ending workload. There is no concept of work/life balance. The facility is very old and there is inadequate attention paid to creating a healthy work environment, i.e., no ventilation, excessively dirty and filthy. A typical day at work meant no time for a break and lunch was expected to be taken while doing safety training. Safety practices are nonexistent and the idea is to get out of the way or else you'll be run over by heavy equipment. The pay was mediocre for a salaried position but one can expect a ton of overtime paid out only if four hours are worked. This OT rule is well taken advantage of as the expectation is you come in early and stay late to get the lengthy task list done. You don't get paid for that extra expectation unless it's four hours total. One is told that holidays are paid; they are not told the reason holidays are paid is because salaried employees work them all unless they can find someone to cover. All in all, this was the worst employment experience of my working career. I can recommend the company to no one as a suitable place to work.

AVOID this place at all cost!  I thought this would be a great place to work being it's Alcoa.  I was treated very poorly and was expected to know a ton of information within a few months (even tho a co-worker told me it takes a good year to know Alcoa and it's ways).  When I couldn't "jump right on it" and know all the things by heart I was talked down to by my boss.  I was spoken to in a tone of voice that even a dog doesn't deserve.  I worked with someone who didn't even work 4 hours a days most days since they were on their personal phone or surfing the net, among other things.  No one cared to do much about it either after it was reported.  I have heard many people say that it was a great place when Howmet owned it, but since Alcoa took over, it hasn't been the same.  I used to be someone who could leave work and forget about it until the next day.   While working at Howmet I could not do that at all.  Other co-workers were great in other departments.  The engineering dept is awesome.  The most enjoyable part of my job was lunch and leaving at the end of the day.
My boss even told me that I was theirs, 24/7.  I don't think so.  I am no longer there and am happily employed elsewhere.  If you want to be treated with dignity and respect, I would look elsewhere.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Electrician 8 salaries reported	$27.76 per hour
Supervisor 6 salaries reported	$89,758 per year
General mechanic 9 salaries reported	$28.47 per hour
Data entry clerk 11 salaries reported	$61,500 per year
House supervisor 4 salaries reported	$90,388 per year

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