Rate and Review Avion Systems, Inc.
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work as an RF tester since 08/20/2012 -
- Minh - 10/19/2012 - flag as inappropriate -
commentThis is RF drive testing and what would you expect. Well if you work in any position in communication, what you would expect is to be all call 24/7. It doesn't mean you will work for 70h/week. You only work upto 50h/week during the peak of a project. The RF drive testing is very laid back: just drive around and gather data. On many days, there is nothing to do, which rattles my nerve about job security. The job is very good in term of accomodation and travels. You have all your money to put into food, entertainment or savings - no worries on car, gas, insurance, rent, and travel expense.
What else? Well I find the people in company very pleasant to work with. The coordinator is very hard-working.
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adadad -
- civa - 5/29/2011 - flag as inappropriate -
commentvery bad...............nothing like company.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................
- 7/19/2012 - Applied for RF Drive Test position. Company did pay for flight out to GA for training but seemed to leave out a lot of information as far as training schedule and initial accommodations.
The accomoodations I could overlook but where I had a major issue was with there equipment set up and the type of vehicle I was in for one 12 hour shift which would have been a Nissan Altima. Phones were not in cradles and held up by rubber bands and the tech has his laptop on a pillow and mine is on my legs. Not ideal for training conditions and they needed bigger vehicles such as mini-vans or SUV's.
The rental vehicle I was in also had a maintenance issue and should have been changed out instead of being taken into the field. I was a professional truck driver at one point in my life and maintenance issues can lead to serious incidents down the road if not corrected.
The job description was not very thorough and I guess they were satisfied enough with my application to send me plane fare however it is spelled out if I decide not to take the job that I would be responsible for my own travel arrangements back to my home state.
I felt it was worth a risk to check it all out however there were safety concerns as far as pushing a driver beyond an 8 hour day and the initial technical setup was inexcusable. Sounds like they are trying to save money and work their drive test teams while avoiding paying out overtime.
As far as accommodations for training are concerned, you might train in the Atlanta area and be sharing a 3 bedroom apartment that might be in an unsanitary condition. Bring your own cheap towel for showering during training.
Overall the training would seem to be quite informal. No tech manuals to review in regards to the test program and no MOP/SOP. They just threw me in a cramped vehicle where it was difficult to want to learn much of anything.
To my understanding I'm not the only one that quit this project. The difference is that I only took one day to make a firm decision as not to waste anyone else's time.
I ended up utilizing mass transit to get myself back to the airport. For those that want to fly out there and verify the obivous, make sure you have enough money saved to return and don't give up your place of residence in your home state or consider putting things in storage until you are absolutely sure you want to put up with this position.
Fortunately I returned to my home state to an apartment that was paid for through the end of my lease. This job definitely has a safety risk factor tied to it and I think the company is underpaying for the amount of hours that can be required of a team and trying to get out of paying overtime by offering a flat weekly pay.
Uncertain if they offer health benefits but they should since you are putting your life at risk when someone else is hired to drive for you. I think they have already had incidents and failed to mention that before flying me out there.
Never got to meet the upper management of the project team at their physical address and they seemed to want to co-ordinate activities keeping you off site in an apartment.
I have over 4 years as a professional wireless tester back by actual professional driving experience as was able to make an initial determination that this project was not worth pursuing. More power to those that do pursue this type of work with Avion and can endure the types of working conditions described above.
Regards. -
flag John Doe - 5/29/2013 - You nailed it on the head... i'm currently doing the position... based out of Atlanta.. and still do not recommend this to anyone else... The job requires extensive hours... 12-14 hour days sometimes 16... and you get paid for 50 hours flat... $12.70 a hour and time and a half for the 10 hours... totalling $700 a week... but end up working 60-70 hour weeks... with no days off... days off consist of you finding out at 9:30PM that your off and still being called in at 11:30 because someone else's kit broke... which is a daily... NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE... the drivers tend to get tired at 10 hours of driving which at the point you have to take over... or risk your life with them falling a sleep at the wheel... which i've had a few drivers fall a sleep... -
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