system engineer

engineer

senior system engineer

mechanical engineer

software engineer

General Dynamics Electric Boat

If you work in an "operations" trade you receive very little in the way of time off, pay that is low for the area, and a long list of "minor" annoyances that all add up to feeling like the company doesn't want you there. Starting with there being insufficient parking (often need to walk 0.5mi or more to the main entrance, spots so small it's impossible to avoid hitting other vehicles with your door trying to squeeze out, and 30-60min traffic just leaving the parking lot after your shift), nearly every interaction you have with the company is unnecessarily difficult. Extremely strict attendance and time off policies lead to high employee turnover. The addage about "getting your foot in the door" doesn't apply if you work in "operations" trades because so many people transferred out of operations that they no longer allow you to. The pay is significantly less than prevailing or median wages for similar jobs that do not require the hassle of getting a security clearance. The individual unions are, overall, pretty good at handling day-to-day disciplinary and safety issues...but all of the trade unions are under the umbrella representation of the Metal Trades Council which is effectively a company asset...they've blocked several attempts of the local unions to get paid compensation for employee qualifications that were approved by department directors and supported by union members, as an example.

Overall, it is a safe place to work. Culture is extremely process focused...you will spend a significant portion of each day preparing and briefing for jobs. If you are a "I just want to get stuff done" type, this can be frustrating but considering how inexperienced most of the employees are (see: below median pay) it's actually a benefit, I would say.

In electrical and electronic trades, I was shocked that they rely almost exclusively on paper documentation. I hadn't had a job in a decade or more where test forms or circuit drawings were not available electronically and without a tablet or laptop to reference them in the field. The paper documentation seems a small issue until you've hiked across the yard for a job and found you need more information about what your working on and you need to hike all the way back to the shop to get it. Because of the layout this can mean 30-45min or more round trips! Insanely inefficient and frustrating... as a result there are a lot of situations where people decide to just try to figure it out without references... with extremely mixed results on making progress (see: inexperienced employees).

Promotions are hit-or-miss. Starting "class" (grade/level pay) is seemingly random... many people with nearly identical backgrounds and experience will start with 2 or 3 pay grades delta... Some supervisors will immediately and frequently process people for raises/promotions, others will nearly never do this relying on annual progressions. You *can* be promoted from 4th (lowest) to 1st (highest) class pay within one year... but it can also take 3 full years and the biggest factor is who your supervisor is. Negotiate for the highest grade possible when you get your offer!

For all the negatives there are a couple pros here: if you only care about job security, this place has that (as long as you don't get sick often and show up on time every single day.)
If you have literally no experience at all, this is a good place to get some. If you have a lot of experience (and can suffer the above) the bar is very low for being an expert in your trade... if you like being in a mentor type role that's easy to fall into (don't expect to be compensated, though.)

Overall, this place is a job. The pay is pretty poor, especially for the area and ESPECIALLY vs COL in CT. The work is interesting/cool. It's pretty safe, as industrial workplaces go. You'll almost never go home feeling like you really accomplished anything. If you're changing trades or have no technical experience it's a good resume builder. You will rarely feel respected or valued. You get paid every Friday. Health insurance is better than some, worse than others. Only place around you get to work on a nuclear power generation facility that shoots missiles. 

In conclusion, GDEB is a land of contrasts. 

Pros:
-I enjoyed all of my coworkers. They were helpful, friendly, always willing to answer questions as I learned, and generally great to work with. (Obviously this could vary by department)

-Pay and benefits are pretty decent. No complaints. I earned raises/promotions fast and good 401k match. However, this was likely due to the fact that EB is losing people at a massive rate and is trying to bandage that by giving out more money instead of fixing core problems and predatory company policies.

-As we live in the US, the defense indutry is a very secure field to have a job in. Little to no chance of getting laid off and hard to get fired here for anything except security breaches.

Cons:
-The company DOES NOT care about you. You are just another worker on their list and company policies reflect that:

- Company shutdown occurs during Christmas/new year’s week each year. However, it is not paid, requiring you to either use a week of your PTO or take it unpaid and lose out on half a paycheck as working that is not even an option. 

-EB requires salaried employees to put in a minimum of 40 hours per week due to some sort of contract agreement with the government. They offset this somewhat by paying you overtime. However, overtime is not paid until after reaching 45 hours, is only paid for hours after 45 hours (working 46 hours is worth 1 hour of overtime), and partial hours worked per day do not count towards reaching over time (theoretically you could work 8.9+8.9+8.9+8.9+12.9=48.5 hours in a week and receive no overtime). It would be better to just leave at 40 hours, go work a shift at some pizza place and receive 4x the pay you would from EB. In addition, EB is actually paid by the government for EVERY hour of overtime you work, you just don’t get that money if you don’t meet the overtime policy requirements they set. I assume that money is then pocketed by the company as savings or used to pay for company expenses? 

-Parking is AWFUL. Don't expect to get a spot if you are not in by 630-7am. Any later and you'll have to park on paid street parking or walk in from the New London garage. This has been a massive problem for decades but EB says that building more parking would be too expensive, which is hard to believe for a company that makes billions each year.

-Workload and hours are tough. This could vary depending on your department but I was consistently working 6am to 4 or 5pm, 45-55 hours per week for months on end. A week or two of this wouldn't be bad, but it gets draining.

-No sick time. EB used to give sick time to employees, but now it’s considered part of your 3 weeks of PTO. Having to use one week for the Christmas shutdown now means you only have 2 weeks for any time you are sick and any time you need to take off for appointments, vacation, emergencies, etc.


Overall, I felt EB expects 200% from its employees, which is fair because this is an important job and requires time and effort. However, EB refuses to put a similar amount of appreciation back into its employees in return, even for basic expectations such as parking and sick time. Many policies and the work environment are focused on benefiting the company itself over the workers that make it up. 

I would not recommend working here, other than if you use it for a stepping stone into another job or if you love submarines. Until they fix the core problems that effect workers, people will continue to leave. Especially younger people who aren't as willing to put up with these problems and EB needs to make a base of knowledge and experience with before the older generations of workers retire. 


Working at my company is literally like being in the Simpsons! It honestly is not too stressful, but of course as you advance in your career, the journey becomes more difficult and new challenges arise. The stress factor is totally relative to the individual. There is no point in stressing over things which you have no control over, but asking questions, raising awareness about something, complying with standard practice, being cognizant of your environment, taking ownership of your work are all necessary elements in becoming a role model engineer at my company, and once management takes notice of these characteristics, you will surely advance higher! 

- typical work day: setting up and attending team meetings (non-supervision/management), group meetings (supervision present) to discuss work progress and schedules, coordinating with various departments as a project management role, visiting the shipyard

- learning: there is always something new to learn when working on a nuclear submarine and in the realm of military engineering; I was inspired to go forward into studying engineering only by being in this environment, given that my background is in architecture

- management: this is definitely an aspect of the company that is open to criticism, both constructive and openly destructive, considering it's the defense industry; there are management tiers, such as upper management that is not visible to the general workforce, and the everyday management that is involved in hiring and getting products out

- workplace culture: it's something out of a TV comedy sitcom, there is a cast of characters in every department, which keeps everyone's spirits high even during a layoff season; everyone is willing to help each other out, regardless of job title or formal education or lack therof

- hardest part: finding the right department to work for, since it's such a large and diverse company, could take quite some time to rotate into a department that offers the type of work you like doing, which means wasting time in a department that simply wasn't the right fit

- enjoyable part: being an independent decision-maker and given the responsibility to take ownership of your work, which is used to determine promotions and finding better jobs and departments to move to over time

General Dynamics Electric Boat, overall, is an excellent employer to begin a career with.  It's a company that puts the United States Navy #1; if you value defense of the United States and believe it is a necessary ideal, this is a pretty cool place to be.  I manage to be surprised in some way by GDEB on a weekly basis, whether it be seeing something new on a submarine, seeing a rare construction phase or testing phase not seen before, or learning historical facts about the shipyard.  This shipyard was on the forefront of building American submarines during World War II and built the first nuclear submarine; the history that lingers here is inspiring and amazing.  I have few complaints about my employment with GDEB; job security as an engineer is rock solid.  I believe the company culture and ability for advancement within the company are flawed.  Your career growth here, in my opinion, can be decided merely on which department you hire into from day one.  There is a "SPADR" system that basically decides your raises and title bumps, and the system isn't necessarily a fair playing ground.  I've heard stories of coworkers doing 40hr workweeks, never taking on additional responsibility, and are fast-tracked towards upper management, while other engineers with similar backgrounds can work 50-60+hr workweeks in a different department, take on more responsibility, and do not get the recognition they deserve or the advancement they deserve.  I have experienced this firsthand.  Given that we interface with the Navy in meetings and on the deck plates on a daily basis, the company tends to align itself with the schedules of the Navy, meaning, showing up to work at 8am on 1st shift means you're late.  Sometimes even showing up to work at 6:45am is considered late.  It can prove to be a rigid working environment and not very flexible at times.  In conclusion, if you get your foot in the door with GDEB as an engineer, you have opportunity to spend an entire career here, and it is a very secure employer.  At the same time, I see engineers cut themselves short and undersell their value as a result.

Training to weld was completely fun, and interactive. I was welding everyday and making myself better. Good instructors at the off-site location only there to make you the best as possible. Then when you get to floor it’s completely opposite, barely given assignments, stood around waiting for the supervisor to brief, and or find work for you to do. I found myself frustrated with the facade they created. You train every ounce of sweat to be the best you can be to only stand around and lose the touch you worked so hard to gain. Showing up to work in a cold building everyday also is not enjoyable when you know you’re standing around vs if you are moving. I would talk to my super about work or the SS and just be told it is slow right now, or let me try to find something, was like that for 2 months. My coworker whom was in the school (offsite training) with me also found ourselves frustrated by this, as much as we vocalized no one cared until I brought it up with HR. I also had to use PTO for legal matters and was told “we understand you have PTO yet we need you to hold off/conserve due to probationary period” as if I had a choice after explaining my situation, and even after explaining it the response I got was not a “ahh that makes sense” just “okay”. So if you go to work here be prepared to sit around a lot, get stuck in the cold building double up during winters with good layers, be vocal about getting work, and problems you have make sure to bring them up so at the end of the day you know you made efforts, and last resort HR. On probation period do not bother taking PTO or sick time legally allowed to but this company runs on a different schedule. The purpose of national defense if a worth while motivation. Just be prepared to walk in a fishbowl for okay money. 

Most locals know this company to be one of the hard hitters for employment in the area for good reason. I can only give you my experience from STO and R&D Engineering.

Once you get your foot in the door here you have endless job advancement opportunity and flexibility. I've seen people go from being security guards to leading entire departments. People go from working as a pipe-fitter to becoming nuclear engineers!

If you look for a challenge you can find it here. It will not be in the light and breezy smooth-skinned NYC office environment you are thinking of though. If you're good [in my opinion] you'll be face down in the bilge learning the application and realities of engineering. People will respect that knowledge more than any Calc4/diffies equation you think is applicable.
Ex-Navy Submariners with no college degrees will trounce you time and again. Be humble --shut your mouth-- listen, follow, and repeat. They are holding the keys to success here. I learned more in 6 months with those men than 4 years of college easily.

Decent benefits and pay are balanced with steady work and good quality of life. You could work an entire career at this company and be fulfilled. You could throw your weight around and definitely make more money at other places but you do sacrifice the overwhelming stability of this company. Plenty of down-to-earth people work at EB.

Downsides:
If you are a bright eyed bushy-tailed fresh engineer, prepare for a smackdown. Between Ex-Navy vets and old Engineers/STO personnel who are the head and shoulders above the SME on all esoteric submarine knowledge (aka almost everything). You will need time and experience to begin innovating. There's a lot of things you don't even know exist yet.

Speaking of innovating-- No. More or less until you are the SME your opinion of how we could "do things better" should be deposited to the circular file.

Unfortunately my tenure with this company was short lived. The pride I had in knowing I was building something so amazing was astronomical, the teachers in their weld school were encouraging as well as supportive. That is where the positive stops and the negative starts. I quit due to hardship that the company did not assist with ,but hardship is one of the things they pride themselves on helping employees with during orientation; go figure on the hypocrisy. I also quit because as the father of biracial kids I heard remarks that honestly tested my patience and self control.There are employees at the superintendent level who pull in family and friends and give them preferential treatment. If you are a lone buck unfortunately it’s just that you are alone to fend for yourself. Your craft is compensated for and the work is challenging, but most people don’t take pride in knowing what they are building and for what purpose like in the days of old and it’s a little disheartening. If the owners had hired a more competent president and pulled all the weeds in management from directors on down and replaced them with actual employees from the floor who are good at their job and not in a supervisory role because it’s easier to keep bad employees mouths shut if they are in a managerial role then this place would be pretty good. Morale is low low low but most employees don’t say anything because paychecks are more important than self morals and principles. Overall this is a good job if you can put personal principles aside and want decent money, with that said if you are looking to give loyalty to a company that would be loyal in return I do not I repeat do not recommend this company.  

Typical work day includes: 
Waiting for hours to get your work started because no one knows what’s going on and then getting berated for not finishing anything during  the day.

90% of the the time they expect you to do a bunch of different assignments and then don’t have the equipment you need to get the assignments done. So now you also waste time just looking for machines that work or parts that “might” fit.

The quality of the material I receive is often so abysmal that I spend extra hours fixing things before I can even get to my own part of the job. Management doesn’t care and expects you to make it work. 

“That’s the way it is” is there favorite excuse to use when they don’t want to acknowledge the problems that happen daily.

Work place culture:
Is toxic and miserable. Everyone that has worked here for over a year is miserable and bitter. This company is extremely reactive and not proactive.

They’ll only acknowledge your concerns when something goes wrong, then blame you after the fact.

Management:
Is full of idiots that push you to make numbers and sacrifice quality. If you work hard they make you work even harder and still pay you the same amount as a person that spends the day pushing a broom around because they don’t trust them to get the job done right.

This place is slowly but surely killing my will to care about anything anymore. 

The most enjoyable part of this job: 
Is going home at the end of the day

The hardest part: 
Is having to deal with all this nonsense because I’m stuck here and have no other job that can help me pay my bills.

I'll start by saying this, the pay is extremely high for most of the jobs you'll do at EB but the company is a complete nightmare once you get in. 

Terrible PTO with more than half of it being unpaid with zero flexibility to your schedule makes for tough times of things come up in your life. Company has trouble keeping people for more than a year and often culls the newer workers when work gets low. 

The engineering department is purely reactionary when it comes to addressing issues with projects and or will often set us back weeks trying to get parts out the door. The average experience for management there is around 2 - 3 years with the company which is amazing for people looking to move up but is terrible in it's execution. Leaders have little experience past their old station and can't be reliably used for guidance. Workers are often written up for first time offenses with part related issues and are then denied parts of their raise as a result.  

Long hours are expected and the work is thankless. You will NEVER see a merit raise no matter how much work you put in. People with nearly 20 years with the company can only name a hand full of times they have seen one handed out and even then it's only been a .75 bump at most. 

My biggest advice is to lie about your current pay during your interview as they will normally rubber stamp whatever number you throw at them no questions asked. New guys being brought on at 26+ dollars an hour is not uncommon.

In order to get any job assignment that requires thinking and isn't just a 'rubber stamper' type job, you have to be connected, kiss up, or at least have a masters in something that the company desperately needs. The tuition reimbursement only applies to management favorites, NOT YOU. No really. Not only that, but the company practically gutted the reimbursement benefit about 4.5 years ago so now its nowhere near as good, even IF you DO get it. If you were in the submarine fleet, DO NOT come here. It will break your heart and put you in a tough position when you see the shoddy work that passes through just about every department on a daily basis. Its not because the workers don't care, its because the management makes up for their lack of competence by being extremely corrupt and tyrannical. Watch the series that HBO did on Chernobyl. The lies, intimidation, corruption, stupidity etc. is Electric Boat to a letter, no kidding. Its that bad at this company. I worked in New London and Groton, there was the same level of corruption, just different lies. Don't think for one minute that the new president that is coming is (late 2019) will change a thing. Corporate is bringing whoever in precisely because they WON'T change anything. That is what works in America today, top down management, do what you're told, kiss up, tow the company line and carry the company lies and up you go. Nothing here to see or know, move along.

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