Hi everyone. I will be finishing my engineering degree in about half a year from now and have started thinking about companies I would like to work for (from my field as well as from other fields). One of the companies I'm looking into is P&G and I was wondering if anyone could help me out with some info.

Nature of the work: I'm assuming engineers would typically end up in logistics or manufacturing (don't think they have this in Switzerland as there aren't any production sites), but possibly other areas as well ("we hire the person, not the position").

Is the work more static (monotonous, spreadsheets all day every day), or dynamic (presentations, conferences, different projects), generally speaking?


Career development: Are there lots of training programs, additional qualifications offered by the company? Do they sponsor MBA's if they like what they see? Do you have good chances of promotion, or will they just keep shipping in senior positions from abroad?


Salary: From what I've read (statistics) and heard from professionals, I should be starting at 80-90k. Can P&G match this (more or less) at entry level?


Work environment: Competitive or cooperative? 8-5, weekdays, or 8am-10pm, clocking in on saturdays?


Global opportunities: Is it easy to move within the company from one city to the next? Can you ask for transfers to specific regions?


Finally, should I go for the entry level position straight away or do I have a better chance by applying for an internship first?

Hope I haven't asked too many questions

Thanks in advance.

I'm interested about the same questions... I know that some of the answers are already on the forum but it's nice to have them all in one topic.

I'll also graduate next year (Industrial Engineering) and I dream about moving to Switzerland. This summer I'll probably go for an internship in Austria (I'm waiting for the answer but the chances are very good)... otherwise I'll intern at the same German company as last year (Schaeffler).

From what I know there is plenty of manufacturing in CH but I might be wrong...

Welcome to the forum. The least you can do is to fill up your public profile ( accessbile here http://www.englishforum.ch/profile.php?do=editprofile ) and state your current location - town and country truthfully.

Milk and Iron, you two are really something. What makes you think that anybody will divulge information like that, in a way that is all but confidential????

Iron - it sounds like you have never tried to get any summer job; I suggest you get some, asap. That will allow you to understand better what kind of jobs you'd be looking for. Anyway, at entry level companies only hire for the position - not the person (unless you are bringing unique experience and skills... ).

Before worrying about getting promoted to a senior position - you have some time, so just start getting in if you just can get an offer.

For everything else - there is mastercard. No, really. There is http://www.glassdoor.com/index.htm . I strongly suggest you start reading there.

It's not confidential information. Usually companies put these kind of things on their websites (career paths, training opportunities and so on). We just wanted to know how things are in CH (because maybe are different than in other countries like Germany or Austria).
I know glasdoor... I used it before but it's not very useful... usually it doesn't have much information...
Thanks for your answer!

I think you may not have searched well Glassdoors. it is one of the best resources on the market for that... and most of the notes are candid. You can also look at the Vault.

The stuff that companies put on their web-site tend to be similar... and the salary scales are top secret. As for how the work is, and for the generalization of what an engineer does - well... engineers can do everything; sometimes you'll have a FI background in factory management, and an EPFL in finance... that is the real world, as compared to school.

Good luck on your search.

Thanks for the response

Because they do it all the time on this forum?

You could try joining LinkedIn and then asking someone who currently works or worked at P&G. But, as on here, the more your profile is filled out the more likely you are to get someone to respond.

I have never found Glassdoor to be useful. When I've done some comparisons for jobs at companies that I know the salary range for the position, the numbers on Glassdoor have often been so far off.

Thanks for the tips. I've been looking around on glassdoor but it doesn't seemed to have catched on yet in Switzerland. Will check out LinkedIn over the weekend, and would still appreciate any tips on here if anyone is willing to give them (by PM if not publicly).

Thanks again.