Pros
You have freedom here that I have not found anywhere else in the industry. Pick the project you want and get it done. If you have an intense interest in every step of making parts you will excel at Conturo. I was able to pick which parts I wanted to work on, which machine to use, purchase tools, design fixtures, program, set-up, and run the parts. The only questions you are asked is when will it be done and do you need anything. If you are tired of begging for tools or being stuck in a rut of old-heads and how they want you to make parts this is the place for you. Many of the gripes I heard and read here were from employees who never worked in another manufacturing environment. They had no clue how good things were for them and dreamed of green grass in other places I knew didn’t exist. This is prototype manufacturing… buckle-up buckaroo and get it done right.
Cons
High pressure. Almost every project I started left me with a pit in my stomach. I often had no clue how I would ever be able to make the parts I worked on. The problem solving is constant and you had better be ready to adapt and do some weird things to get it done. *not really a con but a warning for people who don’t thrive on that feeling.