Roush Interview

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Dropd94Ranger

Forum Member
I know this has probably been covered MANY TIMES and I'm just :beatdeadh but I've got an interview schedule next week for a Co-Op Power Train Engineering Position at Roush's Allen Park facility. I'm a senior at Lawrence Tech (graduating in May) and also team leader of our 2009 Formula SAE team.

Here some history...I've got a co-op job with a tier 1/ tier 2 seating supplier that I've been working at for almost 2 years. It's not bad, but I don't want to do it for the rest of my life.

The Roush position is available as a one semester time slot (meaning I'd work full-time for 3 months then be done). I'm not sure if I'd be able to stay at Roush after the term is over but I'd definitely like to! I don't want to leave a job I've been at for 2 years and quite possibly may get hired for a "temporary co-op job" that I "might" be able to stay at.

Another thing is the pay. I'm getting paid decent where I'm at. I've heard from several people that Roush doesn't pay all that well, but the job is very enjoyable and interesting. I'd rather be happy doing what I love rather than just making more money at something I hate...but then again, money pays the bills!

Lastly, the employee turn-over rate is very high there. I always see job postings. I spoke with a recent grad. that is working there and he says that it is true that they fire people all the time, but most of those people are ones that don't really know how to actually "engineer" something, or people that have come from paper pushing position at other places...

What do you guys think about the situation? I know its worth an interview, but I'd just like to see what you guys say. Plus, I know there alot of guys here that work at Roush....
 
Hmm...guess no one has any input.

I interviewed yesterday, and was offered the position today for $3 more per hour than what they offered, which is still $2.50 less than what I'm making now.

Do you guys have any input? This is at the Allen Park facility (rather nice place in my opinion).
 
I think it would be interesting to work there, but that's about it.

I kow others on here have/do work there.
 
I've known, and met people from Roush, and none of them worked there for long. I normally hear the same thing from them, that they are very demanding, and treat their employee's like shit. Good Luck
 
TWOBEERS said:
I've known, and met people from Roush, and none of them worked there for long. I normally hear the same thing from them, that they are very demanding, and treat their employee's like shit. Good Luck
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thats how it was when I worked there(95-96)
 
I work at Roush in Allen Park and I love it. You will not get rich there, however; there is decent job security (as long as you are competent). You will learn more on a daily basis there than probably anywhere else. There is a very low turnover rate for engineers, unless you are lazy or stupid. Engineers are treated pretty well. The rumors about the high turnover rate are true for the shop and designers but generally not for engineers and calibrators etc. pm me your phone number if you want to discuss it.
 
tnt665 said:
I work at Roush in Allen Park and I love it. You will not get rich there, however; there is decent job security (as long as you are competent). You will learn more on a daily basis there than probably anywhere else. There is a very low turnover rate for engineers, unless you are lazy or stupid. Engineers are treated pretty well. The rumors about the high turnover rate are true for the shop and designers but generally not for engineers and calibrators etc. pm me your phone number if you want to discuss it.
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do you happen to know bill wells?
 
I don't think 3 months at a company is enough to get any real experience. It will give you enough time to decide if you like what they do, and the atmosphere. But if they don't bring you on, it'd seem like a waste. Does your current company have any other product divisions? It's possible you could transfer within. Another thing to consider is if you can get experience in other areas with your current company. I'd suggest finding the work role that you like most, then worry about what company / product you work on. After all if you just like doing cad, the product really doesn't matter much. But if you don't like cad at all, the product won't help you like the job anymore. Another way to look at this would be, what background will make you more desirable.

For starting a career, I would focus on building as much experience as possible (working in testing, helping with prototypes, spending time in manufacturing, working with purchasing, cost estimating, and sales). This won't make you "good" at any of those items. But it will make you very aware of what it takes for those people to do their job, and why things take as long as they do (or why they shouldn't). So later on, when you need those people to do things for you or your project, you'll be much better at getting them the information / parts they need to do their tasks. This whole part of work is pretty much independant of product, and even industry. Sure there'll be different materials, tests and manufacturing methods, but the basic concepts are still there. One big key to being successful is managing your deadlines. Having this sort of background can make it very easy to help you prioritize your tasks to meet your deadlines (and will also help as a reality check when people are creating deadlines).
 
TWOBEERS said:
I've known, and met people from Roush, and none of them worked there for long. I normally hear the same thing from them, that they are very demanding, and treat their employee's like shit. Good Luck
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Yup I used to work there......X2 to what you said. Their managment are fucking MORONS!
 
My girlfriend's brother works there (I'm pretty sure that's his facility). I think they've had 3 rounds of layoffs in his area this year alone. I'll have to ask him. Engineering jobs should be safer though.

From one LTU alumni to a future one, good luck. Remember, things aren't always about pay...especially since you are still a student. Three months of full time work at a difference of $3 an hour (say, 500 hours) is $1500 dollars. This is probably not going to change your lifestyle, and wouldn't even cover one of the master's courses when I was there. This still holds later on in life, so make sure you're doing something you enjoy because no paycheck is worth hating what you do every day.
 
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Roush seems like a great place to start your career. Alot of people i went to college with came back here and went right to work for roush for a year or so. From what I hear/gather its a great place to work for short-term.
 
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