Southwest Research (San Antonio, Austin, Howe: universities, live, gym)

[JNA]

My wife and I are in final preparation for our move to San Antonio (hopefully end of March). One of the job prospects is at Southwest Research. I'd appreciate any input about the company from San Antonio residents as far as what kind of company it is to work for, especially from anyone that works or has worked there.

Thanks!

[jimbobvandy]

Are you referring to the Institute or the Foundation?

[rd2007]

I applied there in 2006. I thought everything went good and they seemed really interested and sent me tons of paperwork to fill out. Then they totally blew me off. I'll give them two thumbs down for that

[cwh]

This is a place I would like for as well, however they are quite picky on their candidates. From what I hear, if you do not have a 3.5 GPA or better, you wont be considered for the job. Apparently this is more important to them than a successful job history.

I have also filled out their paperwork 2 or 3 times and never heard anything else from them.

[neddy]

My husband used to work at SWRI and had a fine time over there. He worked in 2 different divisions and had different experience working in each divison due to the mgr. One very positive, one not so much. The campus is nice we lived in SA at the time so we were not that close to the area but it was a nice experience. He left there for a job at the IBM facility in Austin. I do understand that pay increases don't happen that often, when they do its little unless you get a promotion. Projects he worked on though were interesting.

[Chakapu]

I used to work at SFBR (the foundation, which is biomedical research/more academic and much smaller, and I guess not what you're interested in), and my husband works at SwRI, as do many of our friends.

It's a great place to work, however, it will vary substantially by division. Overall the benefits are good and as a whole, the company is good to work for. The campus is lovely and they provide a lot of activities, including an on-site medical clinic as well as recreational stuff - they have many intramural sports - volleyball (indoor and sand), soccer, basketball, softball, and a gym and running track. They also have lots of dances and other community type events as well as many clubs. Though I worked at the foundation, they are sister institutes and both places participate in the same activities. There is a lot going on for families too.

SwRI employs about 3000 people in at least 20 different divisions, and the divisions each have their own focus (there may be more, I can't recall). Some are more research oriented and some are more product oriented. Everyone I know who works there (about 100+ people) are very happy overall. However almost all of them are at the professional level with PhDs or Master's degrees, and that may make a difference. I do have some friends that are at the technical level and they seem reasonably happy, at least enough not to move. For the most part the atmosphere is relaxed (casual dress, flexibility with time), however this will depend upon the division and the group within the division.

As for pay increases, our friends are all very well paid and no one I know complains about the lack of pay increase or promotion, at least at the professional level. Everyone seems to get annual raises which are not bad (but then, I work for the state, so we're comparing it to cr@p), promotions are not hard to come by, but again, it will depend upon the division. I presume you're looking at one particular area?

[JNA]

Originally Posted by Chakapu

I presume you're looking at one particular area?

It's actually for my wife. She's looking at several electrical engineering positions at the institute. She's completing her master's in March and thought that with her work history and education, this would be a good fit.

[Chakapu]

Originally Posted by JNA

It's actually for my wife. She's looking at several electrical engineering positions at the institute. She's completing her master's in March and thought that with her work history and education, this would be a good fit.

Probably would be. Best thing to do is see if anyone she knows at her university knows anyone in management there. Also, SwRI recruits heavily from universities, she might check the career center at her uni to see if they will have someone there or nearby soon.

[JNA]

Originally Posted by Chakapu

Probably would be. Best thing to do is see if anyone she knows at her university knows anyone in management there. Also, SwRI recruits heavily from universities, she might check the career center at her uni to see if they will have someone there or nearby soon.

That's a good idea. Hopefully they recruit out of state. She's graduating from UCLA in March and then we plan on moving to San Antonio shortly thereafter.

[Been There B4]

I spent over 30 years at SwRI, quite luckily hiring on as a 19 year-old with some technical college under my belt, but no work experience to speak of. Started as an entry-level lab assistant and worked my way up over the years into a white collar position with a great deal of responsibility. Overall, it was a dream come true and I can recall many wonderful associations and experiences that far outweighed the bad.

While still an excellent employer, compared to many other major companies in SA, upper management seems to no longer court the long term employee, unless that person has the gift of generating big project dollars year in and year out. Instead, to a large degree, the Institute has become a solid stepping stone employer who will pay less, in terms of pay and overall benefits, to those who wish to make their mark on science for a few years and then move on to a more financially rewarding career path.

Good luck getting in. Oftentimes it's who you know there that will do the trick. Seen it happen soooo many times.