For a young buck about to head into industry from a scientific masters degree, what are your thoughts on joining Ford's smart mobility group?
Anyone here that can comment on the work and career growth opportunities?
11 replies (most recent on top)
Smart Mobility appears cool in concept. In reality - where is the plan? What is Smart Mobility's plan?
So far, its to spend huge money and deliver very little. I would expect it and Fordpass Rewards to get a major reorg/cut
My experience in automotive OEMs (Ford and GM) is that most jobs in a career path will eventually focus on process.
There are some jobs that require design and implementation expertise but you have to look for these and remain vigilant in terms of making sure your technical skills are kept current.
Currently it looks like there is a swing back to bringing some of the low level (closer to the metal) technical expertise back in house but that can change with the next management fad that grips the OEM leadership team. Unfortunately offshoring also factors in this trend.
On the plus side is the fact that there are currently many companies looking to disrupt the automotive OEMs so with a few years experience you might be able to leverage your OEM experience with them.
My biggest regret? Never moving to California.
I would agree with all these comments. I've worked 22 years at the same large company, not Ford but one of the other big three. 14 of those years in manufacturing, even in that environment, you just don't learn what you would at a tier 1 or tier 2 facility. You basically perform your little slice of the work and make the hand off to the next person. Rediculus!! Now with 8 years to go, job is being threated, and worry about where I would work next. Just a pain, the only saving grace is the fact that I continued with a small painting business I started during my college years. Always have a back up skill for lean times. Always!!!
I did it the opposite way of 2kgo. I started out at a smaller company, worked 6 years, went to another smaller company for a couple of years and then came to Ford because it had the reputation of being a great company with lots of interesting work to do, lots of benefits and made a good product.... boy was I wrong. The work turned out to be boring, routine, narrow focus stuff. The benefits have been trimmed from what they used to be, and the product that we make is suspect. Now I am 20+ years into it, cant leave and worry all the time about when the next SRD is coming. Knowing what I know now, If I had to do it all over again, I would avoid this company like the plague.
This poster has it right; start at Ford (assuming you were actually offered a job at Smart Mobility) stay for 2 to 4 years to get into s position to get within GSR8 reach, then leave to another company to become supervisor/manager.
I should have done this 16 years ago, but did not and now I am instead looking to get the next PRP before SRD'ed during the next wave to start a new direction/career. Too young to retire bit too old to start the same line of work in a different company. Don't be me...
BUT.
I agree 100% with the comments that GM/Ford is not the best company to have a career with, for a young buck. Although I have a slightly different take on it. I do believe that the BIG 3 are the best companies to start your careers with. I am confusing people, right? Not at all. I am saying one should, if he/she could, start with Big 3, stay for 1-2 years and then move immediately without wasting any more time to, lets say, a supplier.
Personally, I started my career with Ford straight after my MS degree- just hated the culture, bickering, brown nosing and partiality. Left in 2 years to a Tier 1. I found that, although not fair at all, that having a OEM as the first company I worked for, had a big impact on my interview process - I got a call from almost all the companies I sent my resume to. I believe the OEM brand name works. In 2 years at Tier 1, I was a "supervisor", which would have taken atleast 15 years at Ford. Plus not to mention the broad responsibility I oversaw at the Tier 1 which at Ford it was very narrow.
So my advice is, join the Smart Mobility team, but LEAVE before 2 years to a Tier 1 and see your career prosper. If you stay at Ford for 10 years, you will need something else to show for other than the "brand name" I mentioned, and be rest assured, 10 years at Ford you will not have much to show for.
Good Luck!
I read the other comments and agree with the sentiment that Ford isn't a great place for young person or a college grad to start out with. You will NOT learn anything here. Unless you work at the plant or directly assemble the vehicle, you will be so far removed from the actual day to day operations that you will not have a chance to apply any technical skills you studied in school. At Smart Mobility, the only thing that you will probably learn is how to make pretty PowerPoints and move numbers around an Excel spreadsheet and throw around a couple of corporate buzzwords during presentations. These are skills are no applicable to any jobs outside of Ford and the further in you are, the more irrelevant these skills become (No other employers will be impressed by these skills).
As far as career mobility, don't make the mistake of thinking that you will be "moving up the ranks" as the years go by or that you will eventually be promoted to high ranking manager or VP. Lots of folks made that mistakes and spent decades here only to eventually top out at the GSR8 or LL6 level before being SRD. It seems very rare for Ford to promote rank and file to a high level position, usually these are filled by political hires or hired from an outside company (Amazon, Apple, Lyft) to the VP or executive level position. So my advise is to keep looking and find a better suitable fit before thinking that this is where you want to end up at.
I agree that ford would not be the best place to start your career. I’m retirement age now and joined ford after working for many years at a smaller company where my responsibilities were broad and deep skills were needed. I understood processes from start to finish. At ford I was surprised to see that people are responsible for small “slices” of a job and most don’t understand how their responsibilities fit into the big picture. I’m glad I’m at the end of my career because I don’t feel that I have gained any markable skills at ford and would be concerned about finding another position.
Very bad idea to start your career at Ford or GM. You will miss out on learning and growth opportunities. Ford and GM are better for mid to late career, when you already have skills and knowledge and maybe want to skate while your children are growing up.
The reason for this is you will only learn very small pieces and only be allowed to see small pieces. If you start in small-mid sized companies you will have broader skills and responsibilities.
At Ford within 4-5 years you will hit GSR 8 and then have no more tech advancement. You will not however have even a fraction of the skills you would learn elsewhere
Having worked at GM, Ford, and within the supply base. The OEMs provided the stepping stone for a nice managerial role within the supply base, which lead to plant manager, director, and V.P. The supply base allows you to wear multiple hats, and a nice progression. If you want a professional career, and not afraid to work, your ability to ascend is very favorable, not so much within Ford.
Ford has a large global team and I have always enjoyed the diversity. Getting to know people with such a variety of backgrounds certainly broadens your world and thought processes. As for the work, each job at ford has such narrow responsibilities that it can be difficult to gain deep expertise. Ford can be a decent place to work if you don’t plan to make a lifelong career there.