So in other words, stay away from the automotive field. That's what I tell the high school kids getting ready to graduate high school. What ever you do, DO NOT go into automotive engineering!
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In the finance area, one of the issues we run into when trying to hire automotive folks is the fact is that they are too specialized, want too much money and are more bureaucratic than the consultants we use. Its more that they are used to working as a "team" and are more "political" than what we need. The folks we hire are great but are more used to getting the job done, without a great deal of oversight and paperwork for approval. In other words, they use their technical skills and not their political skills for advancement.
I was at Ford for 10 years and had absolutely no problem getting another job.
In my opinion, after 3-5-ish years, easy, you WILL get a job.....Now, if its after working for Ford for 10+ years, then dont even bother, you will NOT get a job. Why? Because of the reasons mentioned below here by others.....Ford is very good at making you good for nothing, unless you consciously try to upgrade yourself all the time, even when your job is degraded all the time over years...its difficult, but some people do it...
But why do you want to sweat?, just leave Ford for a supplier or something and you dont have to worry about any of this..... all suppliers are good, they do all the work anyways....
Very difficult! Most companies think "is this one going to be as bad as the other ones we hired from Ford?"
I’m the person who retired after leaving Ford and being unable to find a decent position at another company. I am a technical person whose speciality changed drastically in the last few years. Ford has many positions that focus on tools and processes that you won’t find at other companies because Ford puts their own spin on so many functions. During the time that my speciality was making leaps and bounds in a new direction I was getting a lot of assignments that kept me extremely busy but focused on Ford specific functions. Technology changes quickly and while I had worked at other companies in the past those skills were no longer fresh. I was financially able to retire so I did. Because of my background I could have just as easily taken training to get current in my skills but I was so over the long hours and feeling under valued.
The moral of the story is to stay current and try to avoid spending too much time working on projects that develop Ford specific expertise that will not transfer to other companies. Some people are not concerned about this because the feel they can stay at Ford until they choose to retire. Things have changed and you can no longer count on that. There are many opportunities at Ford and you can do well there if you remember to develop your own career and keep transferable skills. It’s on you as no one there is concerned about your future.
Yes, I have worked at other companies (suppliers) however it has been awhile, and actually would like to return to the supplier side. I worked at FCA before Ford. You mentioned that a lot of Ford employees reinvented themselves as PM's. Looking back it seems like PM is the focus on the OEM side, there is a lot more meetings talking and managing stuff, instead of actually doing the design. Back in the day, when things were stable and someone could work at an OEM for decades the OEM was the place to be. Now, I think it is the other way around, since the suppliers do more of the work that has valuable skills sets, instead of, just going to meetings all day and talking about the suppliers.
If you had jobs before Ford where you actually acquired broad and deep knowledge and skills then came to work for Ford for a few years, you will be able to find another job.
If you only worked at Ford, it is a different story, it will be rough. And yes many of the posted jobs are fake.
Many long time Ford were unable to find jobs after layoffs and reinvented themselves as Project Managers. Right Management has PM training classes. PM is not my cup of tea but better than would you like fries with that?
Well, I guess I'll have to wave some magic wands and create some jobs then. Too add to the insult to injury of looking for a job... most of the "job postings" are fake. The SAME job postings are seen week after week, month after month, I have even seen some year after year! They are just there to hold a budget for a department. My options are limited already. If you were able to retire from Ford, then you hit the lottery.
Depends on where you are trying to go, your interview skills, and skill set...just like any career move.
I retired from Ford two years ago and considered working a while longer until I started my job search. I was concerned about finding another job because I had worked for a few other companies prior to Ford and felt each job I held at Ford had a very narrow range of responsibilities. Plus people are moved around so frequently that they don’t develop deep skills in their narrow little slice of responsibility. At other companies my responsibilities had been much broader and my skills grew deeper making it easy to find the next job. After retiring I was unable to get an interview anywhere because the jobs all wanted broader and deeper skills than I had developed in recent years. Luckily I was in a position to retire and avoided having a job that required me to ask “would you like fries with that”. Unless you are financially able to retire I wouldn’t stay for too many years or you’ll find your options become very limited.
If you're in the tech field only three things matter when looking for a new job.
Your very specific experience on your last job, has to match the requirements for the new job, 100% exactly.
Your very specific experience on your last job, has to match the requirements for the new job, 100% exactly.
Your very specific experience on your last job, has to match the requirements for the new job, 100% exactly.
Other than that ... it shouldn't be that bad. I got cut in April and gave up looking about three months ago.