assembly operator

fulfillment associate

tester

equipment maintenance technician

engineering technician

Rochester-Electronics

I enjoyed my first 1-1.5 years there. It is a privately owned company that had been very successful with its niche market for over 32 years. They have decided to move into in-house manufacturing to supplement operations, instead of outsourcing it all. Sales personnel make great progress in finding new business. 

However, recommendations supplied by hourly and salaried people are not implemented by managers unless those ideas come from managers.
Decisions are often made by managers unfamiliar with the new processes or without considering information from more experienced employees and engineers; even though they were hired for that expertise.
Information sharing is not a strong point in the organization.

The hierarchy is like the military; lower ranked individuals in the Org Chart don't have direct input to or contact with other managers or supervisors in meetings. All info is filtered to other managers or staff by your manager. 
Company control lies in the hands of 3 or 4 upper management managers below the level of the owners.
Everything is done for show; as long as it looks good.
There is a lot of wasted time tying up management in daily and weekly meetings.

Very impressive physical settings for the work campus. But, the facilities are inefficiently operated. There is extensive expensive outsourcing of maintenance activities.
Management is very slow to change, even though the corporate goals state otherwise.

Interdepartmental cooperation and support for new manufacturing efforts is adversarial.
The company goals for the future are admirable, but are not shared equitably and uniformly.
Employees are retained At Will. There are no lay-offs, but the turnover is high at all levels, They do not use a system of progressive warnings for discipline. A recent employee suggestion box implementation was poorly executed and implemented without resolution to those that participated.

Be prepared to use old equipment that can be purchased cheaply and be retrofitted/refitted/repaired/reused/repurposed/retrained with little manufacturer's equipment support, as opposed to newer more expensive equipment that will work immediately.

Looking to join a company that really knows how to make you feel underappreciated? Well, have I got the place for you…

If you're not part of the "veteran" group or in a director-level role, your hard work might just go unnoticed—until something goes wrong. Then, you could find yourself in the spotlight. When their bottom line is affected, kneejerk reactions often lead to irreversible decisions, with little room for discussion or a thorough investigation. A little more transparency and communication in these situations would certainly benefit everyone.

And if you're an outsider hired from another company, get ready for the cold shoulder right from the start. Your needs? Well, they're just not a priority. As for the lack of training, don’t worry, they’ll still expect you to be an expert—and make you feel inadequate if you're not.

But wait, there’s more! Got a legitimate complaint? HR might drag their feet—or not act at all—even if there are numerous complaints piling up. Here’s an interesting twist: if someone does something highly questionable to get you fired, it seems like they get a free pass, while you're left figuring out your unemployment application.

Now, I can only speak to the department I worked in, but word around Rochester Electronics is that plenty of employees aren't exactly thrilled. Dissatisfaction is widespread. My experience there? Well, let’s just say it was, at best, concerning.
It might sound too outrageous to be true, but it can all be yours if you’re interested in a job where you'll likely feel stressed, disrespected, overworked, unheard, and potentially even retaliated against.

So, why wait? Apply now. Seats are filling up fast—and I’ve saved one just for you!


No training with high expectations from management.  Management is generally non-supportive, with an uncaring attitude toward employees.  Unpleasant work environment, no sense of team work...  Which is why REI has a revolving door in HR, they can't retain employees.  They brought in a new Director of HR to "change corporate culture"...  She lasted only 14 months... That should tell management something, but they brush it off as nothing... Generally incompetent management, having no idea how to assess work productivity, and can't balance workloads among workers in the departments.  Some workers hide at their cube or desk spending the day on their phone, while others are doing a disproportionate amount of work... and management apparently has no idea this is going on... There are people in key locations that feel the best way to stay ahead is to keep everyone else behind...  Ignorant no-nothings being hyper-critical of other's work... really terrible work environment and terrible atmosphere.  Air conditioning doesn't work in the summer, and heat doesn't work in the winter (unless you're in the main building).  Lot's of favoritism... if you're looking for a place for your career to die, or maybe you just want to waste a few years of your career in an idle dead-end job... then this is the place for you! 

I can confirm that it is very calm, boring, and hardly any stress in the company but that's the only good about it. They will offer you $21 an hour as a temp worker if you don't have experience. You gain some experience 3 months later and they will pay you $20 an hour as a permanent employee, in which it doesn't make any sense but let's continue. 
After speaking with older co-workers working there, I found out that no one got any raises in years!  Even when they tried to voice it to their managers, it seems like you have to be on top of them to acknowledge you just to get paid a little more. People there are extremely under paid. I left because of the lack of opportunities in the company. It is best to work in there in order to gain some experience from it and use those experience in another company that actually pays you a livable wage. Not many people stay too long working there. It's like a revolving door, new people in and then new people out. The only people that stay working there got some type of mental issues without taking their meds.

Worked on the test floor for 10 months.  Supervisor was a very unprofessional chauvinistic person.  I was hired to work 2nd shift, with a 6-8 week first shift training schedule, I was ambitions to pass the quality tests so that I could make the move to 2nd Shift. as it is what suited my family better.  Well After 8 weeks I was asking to be tested every day for the test.  After 3 months I was finally given the test.  And I passed it with a 100%.  After this I assumed there would be a week or two of transition, before I was moved to the shift I was hired to work.  After another month or so, I was told I would need to take the test AGAIN!  I did indeed pass it again, only to wait 2 months before going on 2nd shift.  
  Set all that aside.  The semi conductor testing equipment in this facility vary in age, most is 30+ years old and very antiquated.  So much so that they employ a small army of "Test Maintenance Crew"  there job is to Micky mouse the equipment and scour the internet trying to find replacement parts for equipment that has not been manufactured in 20 years. They are literally held together with tape and rubber bands.

Company is micro managed. Ownership is unaware of management’s behavior towards employees. Infrequent increases, incentives, or merit raises given. Incentives motivate sales reps, who are critical to drive top-line results. They withhold increases in hopes the employee will resign voluntarily. Management focused on personal financial gain. Long term employees unappreciated. Select employee's are favored.
Advice to Management
Treat your employees with more respect and admiration and maybe they will work a little bit harder. I feel inclined to warn others and would not want an innocent hard working person to experience something so unrewarding.

Allot of False promises and they will train you in everything but hesitate and make life impossible to get a raise or promoted to another position. You can help them Reach their Company Goals by the deadlines they give you and do not acknowledge your hard work for completing those deadlines. Then they are hesitant with Bonuses and Pay Raises.  If you have health disabilities and bring you on as a temp to hire, Good luck. You will need to argue with management and HR in order to get brought on for Health Benefits. They have a very high turn over rate and will fire you over nothing. Everyday you work here you feel like you are walking on thin ice even if you do nothing wrong and work everyday. They also have done some Whistle blowing things and will fire the person who brought up the issue to HR. Company is a joke but they pay if you dont complain about anything. 

All support (or lack thereof) was from headquarters in Newburyport, MA.
I worked in a remote office. No training manual was provided for position. Approx 2 hours of training on site and then was expected to perform at top speed and accuracy in less than 90 days with minimal support and using 3 different (and difficult) operating systems to perform duties. Because of the time difference, there were 4 hours of each and every day where there was no help available to me from the department at headquarters. EXTREMELY STRESSFUL!! Was treated poorly by many members of the department. Manager of the department was very knowledgeable in the business but had no people skills whatsoever. She had no clue how to properly train new hires for remote office to help them succeed in their position. It was an awful experience. I was never set up for success.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The Insurance benefits. Enjoyed working with other operators. Flexible hours.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Management is horrible who don't know how to treat folks. Unnecessary meetings that doesn't resolve problems. Lack of documentation and structure to support processes. Favoritism. Nepotism. Overall poor leadership and low morale.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic work culture. Mix of office work and cleanroom environment. No room for job advancement such as entry level. Those who worked before me typically reap all the promotions and bonuses.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Supporting engineering and training operators on the floor. Typical weekly meetings. Sometimes help with maintenance on equipment troubleshooting.

I worked on the test floor as a visual inspector, which isn't an actual position mind you. By the end I was preforming the duties of a lead for the area, and I fought for a position to be created. My manager and supervisor didn't want to hear any of it, they said HR doesn't see the value in the position. I also worked on several projects and helped generate training materials, I was promised I would benefit as well as the company. In the end I was told me reward was the overtime! Your managers and supervisors will lie straight to your face if it means getting you to do what they want. And God forbid you want a fair raise or promotion, cause they'll move the goal posts every time you get close. Don't trust anyone in management, they aren't your friends and they don't care about you. They only care about the money you can make for the company.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Assembly operator 19 salaries reported	$21.14 per hour
Fulfillment associate 15 salaries reported	$18.17 per hour
Tester 9 salaries reported	$20.00 per hour
Equipment maintenance technician 7 salaries reported	$33.11 per hour
Engineering technician 5 salaries reported	$28.11 per hour

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