Hello,
I know a handful of FCGs who left Ford after their FCG rotations for a company like Amazon or IBM. During their time, Ford paid for their master's degree and other certifications.
As a soon-to-be graduate, is Ford a good place to start my career? I do not necessarily care about working at Ford long-term. I am thinking about short-term job experience to take somewhere else and salary.
As long as you don't mind putting in the 24-month commitment after your last class it is not a bad perk. You get 6k per year for an accredited school and program that's relevant to your position.
ok - you do not sound bitter in your detailed response.
Contrary to the caution about the advice you receive here because people are angry... Most are not angry and if you read the posts you’ll see that people give decent advice, mostly. Some are worried for their jobs and want to talk about that. You see the random angry person but you find that on any site.
To your question, I recommended that my son not try to get an FCG IT position at Ford. There are many positive things about Ford but there are also negatives that might not be suited to someone’s first professional position. The FCG positions are the luck of the draw. Some FCGs land in a decent job where there are people willing to help develop valuable skills. Others are bored to tears with busy work.
I have worked at smaller companies and was surprised how each job within Ford IT is so narrowly defined. Many people don’t understand how their “piece” of the job relates to the bigger picture. A person just starting out would get greater benefits from a position at a company that gives a view of the entire project lifecycle.
Ford is extremely competitive and I believe that is a result of the performance review process. It is changing but culture lives on. When many believe they are competing for a single top achiever review it doesn’t create a nurturing environment. People don’t want to help you look good because it takes attention from their work. That’s a fact of life for people mature in their careers but not the best for someone just starting out.
Is Ford a good place to start a career? No it isn't. It is a monumental waste of your youth if you work here for more than a few years. As an FCG you won't learn anything. Most of the CAD and development work is done by suppliers. All you'll do is create documentation and give PowerPoint presentations to kiss up to management - completely irrelevant to your job title. There are very few promotion or advancement opportunities even after you've been with the company for 10 years no matter how hard you work. You'll earn more working for the FAAANG on the East or West coast. You'll learn more working for a smaller company or working at a startup up, or if you have the means starting your own business.
As far as doing your Master's, Ford only give you something like $2,000 a semester to cover tuition, and that only for pre-approved majors with their affiliate university (most of which are located in Detroit and have pi$$ poor reputation - seriously some of the tuition reimbursement programs are for community college courses at places like Devry). You are much better off taking 1-2 years off and doing an engineering Master's at a highly regarded engineering school than taking the tuition reimbrusement "perk" at Ford.
I am not laid off, I work for Ford. I say run for the hills. Many other companies have tuition reimbursement. Don't come here just for that.
FCG rotations are hit and miss. So you will get as many opinions as there are FCGs.
Ford LL6 and LL5 get brownie points on their Performance Reviews for sponsoring FCGs.
There are published rules for what an FCG position is suppose to be. A large portion of the FCG positions are do-nothing or grunt work positions, which is NOT what they are suppose to be.
There are some great LL6 who go out of their way to mentor their FCGs and set them up for long term success. These are the minority. The good FCG positions are extremely difficult to get as everyone selects them as their top picks, via word of mouth.
I know FCGs who got 3 rotations of do-nothing positions, this allowed them to do their Masters school work on Ford’s clock. Yes, they then left Ford.
I know an FCG who lucked into a great first rotation and the LL6 promoted him within the first year and made a position for him to roll off of FCG program into.
The Ford system is very different than other companies where you know exactly what you are being hired for, and will be expected to do meaningful work and contribute.
You must decide for yourself what company will match your goals and personality.
If you are driven to achieve, contribute and learn your craft - Ford May not be your best choice.
If you are looking for a company where you can earn your Masters in two years while at work - Ford is a good choice.
You have answered your own question. Your peers s—ered Ford to pay for their Masters and misc certs, then left. That should tell you everything you need to know. Question for you is if you are willing, or can sell your soul long enough to get your degree and certs and pay back the time commitments before leaving like your friends did. Or, just find another company that you would be able to get the same and not have to run from.
Be careful of the advice you receive here. There are many angry people on a Ford Layoff site so there will be mostly negative opinions.
Better to talk to your peers/etc than ask for help on here.