Those at the top know that people don't have many alternatives now and it's hard to get a new job and they use it to the maximum. That's what frustrates me the most.
Do you think that GA has never had a greater culture of fear than now? Those at the top understand that the fact that people find it difficult to get a new job still does not mean that fear can motivate them to work better.
Data Device Corporation here in Poway, CA is looking for a couple of good Electrical Engineers, one that should know high speed signal integrity such as DDR2/DDR3/DDR4 and SERDES types, and another EE that doesn't need to be an SI guru. You can see one of our postings here, and if interested, you can contact DDC and it will get to the right people. This is for DDC's rad hard/space business.
https://careers-ddc.icims.com/jobs/1390/design-engineer%2c-sr./job
THIS statement "Hopefully GA will stay in business long enough for me to retire" and THIS statement "GA develops 99 cent aerospace products"...
Basically, you just admitted what everyone has been thinking. Working at GA sucks. How can I find a better job?
When GA wins a contract that the big boys are playing in then you can say they are not the 99 cent store of defense… but again you are speaking of an area that GA has never been in and is TRYING to get into…. Microsoft did make a windows phone but that didn’t work out very good… GA trying to compete with the big boys hasn’t worked out for GA in the past but who knows maybe the future is different
At our last big meeting, company leadership talked about building and winning the contract to replace the aging MQ-9. That definitely will not be a 99 cent product. We have been setting the standard in UAV production/design for a long time!
GA has never claimed to be anything that you speak about. GA won contracts by developing the 99 cent products of areospace and defense… GA is just getting back to its roots and look for the next 99 cent product that no one else wants to mess with bc the margins are too low… GA has never competed with the big boys and it’s not even in their DNA to do so… and that’s ok.. bc I will have a job and hopefully GA will stay in business long enough for me to retire
People always have options. You'd be surprised at how many tech / engineering companies are just clamoring for engineers.
The real crux of the problem is much larger though, and its the reason why I, as well as many many former co-workers, eventually left the company, pre-pandemic even. Read through the message board here. The comments are overwhelming very negative. "I would leave but can't leave because of family and mortgage", "Management is toxic and threatening","The technology is old and cheap" .
What is NOT commented is inspirational leadership and motivation. A GOOD company would have the following comments. "Management has been super trustful and flexible, and we can continue to WFH" "The company encourages and pays for us to upgrade our skillset" "We pride ourselves on Teamwork and Motivation!"
Who would ever want to work, stay working, or stay motivated for a company that is a inflexible, toxic, and runs daily by pettiness, fear, and toxic practices? The good engineers, who had options, have all left. The other good ones have one foot out the door. The remaining engineers, likely do not have the talent to win GA new contracts - which is why GA has NOT won a SINGLE MAJOR contract for the past decade - always losing to better talent and management at Grumman, Boeing, Kratos, Anduril.
Inspirational leadership attracts the best. Bad leadership drives people away. Management 101. GA is becoming and will become irrelevant.