Pros
The Trainee program is ideal for those seeking to either start their careers fresh out of college or for those making a transition into a new one but aren't sure where to start. The ability to rotate through various roles that are catered to your interests gives you an insight into not only potentiall careers for yourself, but the culture within each department. I rotated through 3 departments and always found myself welcome and given challenging (but fair!) work. I often found that a good work ethic was reqarded with trust and the opportunity to be involved in work that wasn't just entry level. Compensation has become more competitive over the years and the raises were regular (though I'm not sure if that has continued through now due to Covid). The coordinators for the trainees are wonderful and personable. They reuly want to listen to you and your feedback to improve not only your experience, but the program itself. Ability to travel to various locations for rotations was also very cool. Great health benefits and 401k. Certain locations even have gyms onsite with locker rooms and showers. Medical, dental, and optical facilities are found at various locations as well, through the Quad/Med branch/insurance Quad provides. Diversity initiatives have felt genuine. Do not care about piercings, tattoos, hair color, etc.
Cons
The only downside is that some departments don't have as clear of goals for their trainee, or are just there to fill a spot that isn't able to be graduated into - they rely on the cheap labor to get that work done. I feel that these roles have decreased through my time there but there's always a chance. Thankfully, the coordinators frowned upon these and often would avoid putting a trainee through them if not necessary. There are certain upper management and long-term employees that have an "old guard" mentality. However, I've heard that this has been shifting as younger, more diverse senior level employees are coming through. Uniforms are a negative, but make for easy getting ready in the morning, I guess. Certain rotations are more lax about going "full navy". CEO is hailed as "one of us" but still has a front row spot for his Tesla, so make of that what you will. He does try to get to know his employees, however it can feel out of touch when he's making millions and compensation at the time I started was meager. At times makes questionable decisions for the company and plant closures/lay offs can feel sudden and delivered with flippancy. General views of the employees lean conservative in management but that's to be expected in suburban Wisconsin.