Boston Scientific

Irishder

Hi,
I just got offered a job in Boston Scientific. Its a 6 month contract and i will be moving up from Waterford. Anyone know whats it like to work there? There is a possibility of me doing the weekend shift, does anybody know the specific hours and days?

biko

It's pretty good I think, a friend works there and hasn't complained anyway

Older threads with some info, prob outdated

Irishder

Thanks Biko, yeah i saw the older threads just looking for more up to date info on the shift patterns. Its a big move for me as i am married with a 6 year old and one on the way also. Its going to be a busy year.......

sentient_6

They switched this year to 3 8 hour shifts 5 days, from 3 x 12 days & nights. The day shift is 7 -3, evenings 3 - 11, nights 11 -7. There is a separate weekend shift running 2 12 hour days. 7 to 7 saturday, possibly 11 to 11 sunday(i think). Thats for promus anyway.

Irishder

Thanks Sentient, so if you are on the weekend shift how do you get your 39 hours in?

-Vega-

From what I remember weekend shift in boston was 3 x 12 hours, fri sat and sun. Nice place to work financially, good money, nice over time rate, cheap canteen food.

Remember though - you are just a number to them. If business slows down in a few months, they wont hesitate to let you go. I was there nearly 3 years, they didnt give me a contract and just turned around and let me and 50 others go. I felt like part of the furniture at that stage, knew everyone and did my job well and liked it therebut just like that.. I was gone.

So don't get too attached and good luck!

sentient_6

Irishder wrote: »

Thanks Sentient, so if you are on the weekend shift how do you get your 39 hours in?

You don't. Are you going to be working as a product builder or support? Product builders that im aware off would be (mostly/probably) claiming their social welfare still & marking off days worked. Although there is also opportunities for overtime monday to friday, i'm not sure if the same would go if your working support.

asdfg!

Worked there for a couple of years back and can safely say it was the worst working experience of my life. It wasn't that they work you hard but they do. You will every earn every single solitary cent they pay you. It was relentless. You will work hard from the moment you enter at the start of the shift to the moment you leave. But it was the way I and others were treated. I may have been a bit unlucky with the room I got. But in the end it got to me and I left. Others have more positive experiences but I'm sure all will tell you that you will be worked hard.

Also as vega says, you're a number and without a permanent contract you can be out the door just like that. My contract was renewed after six months, then three months, then six months without any logic or explanation. Also at times people would be suspended for a simple mistake, sometimes without evidence. That happened to two long term employees while I was there. It was outrageous. They were forced to apologise but as a contractor you will have no such comeback.

So have no illusions.

Irishder

gulp... asdfg thanks for the perspective

asdfg!

asdfg! wrote: »

Worked there for a couple of years back and can safely say it was the worst working experience of my life. It wasn't that they work you hard but they do. You will every earn every single solitary cent they pay you. It was relentless. You will work hard from the moment you enter at the start of the shift to the moment you leave. But it was the way I and others were treated. I may have been a bit unlucky with the room I got. But in the end it got to me and I left. Others have more positive experiences but I'm sure all will tell you that you will be worked hard.

Also as vega says, you're a number and without a permanent contract you can be out the door just like that. My contract was renewed after six months, then three months, then six months without any logic or explanation. Also at times people would be suspended for a simple mistake, sometimes without evidence. That happened to two long term employees while I was there. It was outrageous. They were forced to apologise but as a contractor you will have no such comeback.

So have no illusions.

I have to say I have heard quite different reports from people I know working there. They always found it quite relaxed working there and while busy I never heard anyone say they were worked overly hard.

I also never head any stories about them being very strict on mistakes, I actually heard more complaints about letting people off too easily with clocking in and going home and other such breaches of conduct (this would have been a few years back though when things were going really really well).

gordongekko

Sounds like most work places now

Thargor

Worked there years ago for a year before college, Ill never set foot in a cleanroom again, absolute nightmare, not a hostile work environment just staring at the clock willing it to move, looking up expecting an hour to be gone and only 20 minutes will have passed. Got so sick of it I spent most of the time in the changing rooms reading my book on the toilet or playing games on my phone, nobody seemed to care. Great money for the time though, probably earned literally twice what I would have got pulling pints.

asdfg!

Alessandro Curved Back wrote: »

I have to say I have heard quite different reports from people I know working there. They always found it quite relaxed working there and while busy I never heard anyone say they were worked overly hard.

I also never head any stories about them being very strict on mistakes, I actually heard more complaints about letting people off too easily with clocking in and going home and other such breaches of conduct (this would have been a few years back though when things were going really really well).

I had a completely different experience. Nothing relaxed about it. You arrived at 6:45 and you worked non stop except for breaks which were strictly adhered to. Unlike Thargor's experience the line would stop even if you went to the toilet, so no goofing off. When I first went there we were told we couldn't have time off unless we arranged our own cover from another shift. We always had our targets increased regularly and even if we were taken away for a meeting we had to hit them.

Then there was the attitude of the quality people and the trainers. Little Hitlers. My first Supervisor was an ahole. The first time I talked to him was to get a verbal warning for a mistake I didn't make. Me and a couple of others who seemed to be randomly chosen by the QA person. It was all a blame culture.

Later I was moved to another room where things were better and the boss nicer but the work was still tough. I left on good terms but I was actually having nightmares about the place by the time I left.

But as I said others have been there for years and quite happy. I still have a friend working there and she's fine with it. It really does depend on where you work there.

Good luck.

fish fingers

This is my second time there, it does depend on where you land but I never had a problem there. Do your job and try and get on with your co-workers and you should be grand. I've worked in another company that does the same sort of thing as Boston and I left there to go back to Boston. It was not the same, much less money, hardly any training, much higher targets. Go in, get the head down and you'll be sound. Best of luck.

Thargor

asdfg! wrote: »

Then there was the attitude of the quality people and the trainers. Little Hitlers. My first Supervisor was an ahole. The first time I talked to him was to get a verbal warning for a mistake I didn't make. Me and a couple of others who seemed to be randomly chosen by the QA person. It was all a blame culture.

Oh God yes, this went on all the time, I got sent for retraining once because one of the QA bitches went down behind my machine and found a load of old stent parts on the ground back there! I went ballistic with her, asking why I was being blamed when theres 5 or 6 other shifts on this machine when Im not here (plus that kind of thing was the responsibility of the cleaning contracters not me), I asked her if she realised how stupid it was to blame me just because I was on duty when she found them, she said I could go to the retraining or I could quit, demanded her name to make a complaint and she refused to give it aswell. Every one of those people were horrible.

fergiesfolly

Irishder, you'll more than likely end up on the Promus line and from what I heard they're a good bunch and the atmosphere is good in there. The job you're doing may or may not feel monotonous, depending on what you're doing, but as said elsewhere, just put the head down and get on with it for a while and other opportunities may arise. The one thing about Boston, if you show a good attitude, they'll help you get on, in there.
Good luck. Let us know how you're getting on.

vinnycos007

Do any of you know how to apply to be a product builder, as i hear they are recruiting but i don't see anything on their website ???.Is it a recruitment agency they use??

JohnDee

vinnycos007 wrote: »

Do any of you know how to apply to be a product builder, as i hear they are recruiting but i don't see anything on their website ???.Is it a recruitment agency they use??

I think ICE still take care of recruitment? Anyhow if you ring Boston they'll put you in the know.

bonzodog2

vinnycos007 wrote: »

Do any of you know how to apply to be a product builder, as i hear they are recruiting but i don't see anything on their website ???.Is it a recruitment agency they use??

They use ICE, had a load of aptitude tests etc for people very recently, don't know if all positions filled or not. Try here:
http://www.icejobs.ie/view_job.asp?job_id=928

vinnycos007

Thanks guys i appreciate your help!!

antoobrien

RopeDrink wrote: »

A lad I worked with had spent 10 years there in total (Was there 5 years when I strolled through the door as the latest member of his team and for the 5 I was there and a little longer) and he drove down from Mayo to BSCI for all three work days for all those 10+ years. He was not even given redundancy when he finally left, after a decade of service, a solid worker and a real nice guy.

O.T. but if he left, rather than being made redundant, he's not entitled to any redundancy/service payments.

Starscream25

Hi I'm going to be starting hopefully in the next few weeks, going for an interview next week, just wondering what's the current hourly wage on line production if anyone knows?cheers

fish fingers

Starscream25 wrote: »

Hi I'm going to be starting hopefully in the next few weeks, going for an interview next week, just wondering what's the current hourly wage on line production if anyone knows?cheers

Are they hiring again ?

chuky_r_law

just had a quick read of the thread. found it interesting as i worked in both medtronic and boston. the good points for me was, well in medtronic anyway, i worked with a load of people. craic was alright. in boston i only really worked with 2 other lads , and we werent really on the same wavelength - however the work was much handier and we were pretty much left unsupervised so could take long 2/3 breaks. i even remember going home to watch world cup matches while still being on the clock. hhappy days!!

in both places the work was exceptionally boring. i had a tough time just staying awake tbh (actually i lie....i fell asleep on the line loadsa times!!). i found most of the supervisors to be dicks but then im sure they were getting it in the butt from whoever they reported to. money was ok, but there was often plenty of times to do overtime.

its not the kind of place you always would hope you would end up, but if you are just looking at it as a means to an end then its grand. just dont expect it to be a fulfilling experience.

Baked.noodle

I worked in both Medtronic and Boston. Boston for a year in 2004, and after collage, Medtronic for about 9 months. Both jobs were ok, with decent pay and nice co-workers. When I worked in Boston it was nights, and it was much more relaxed than the day shift. Our line could meet it's quota, and have a cup of tea and read until the end of shift (at least I did anyway). Most supervisors were friendly, with one notable exception. But even he was ok. Boston treated me fairly, but in the end as a temp worker you just don't know how long you have got. There was always rumors that such a product was in the pipe line or being held up, so only the full time staff were really comfortable. When I worked Medtronic it was days. It was much the same except the workload was much heaver. I ended up at the end of the factory production, or final pack. Everything built in the factory came through our room and we did lots of overtime (which was expected of everybody). I have fond memories of the people I got to know working in both factories, and I didn't mind working hard to pass the time.

Starscream25

fish fingers wrote: »

Are they hiring again ?

Sorry for late reply fish, it was boston scientific in cork I was on about, but they will be hiring shortly, the job is run through Kelly services in cork if u want to apply for it