Pros
FDM absolutely cares about it's employees, trainees, and the consultants they have contracted to other people. If anyone ever has a problem, they want to know ASAP so they can work with you to get it fixed. I know internally they do anything they can try to work with anyone having a problem, and they really do look out for everyone. FDM is extremely supportive. Below I have laid out the pros: + Supportive + Cares about employees/contractors/trainees + Offers opportunities to people who get overlooked + Can help create great career opportunities for people + Offers solid, guaranteed pay amount for contractors + Holds high education and performance standards + Paid training + Extremely diverse - FDM prides itself on inclusion and promoting especially women in the workforce. They've taken some great strides in that area. As an internal employee, I've absolutely loved my time here. The company holds great, inclusive values and is incredibly supporting. They value new ideas and teamwork to help grow the company. The people are super nice, and it's a great environment to work in.
Cons
I do love working for FDM, but to be fair I need to list the cons as well. I am an internal employee and did not go through the training programme, so I cannot speak for the trainee experience. But from my experience here are the cons: - Guaranteed pay amount. This one was a pro, as well. The reason is the pay is the same no matter what company you are contracted to, so it can be more or less than what others around you on site are making. This point isn't really good or bad, but something to consider from both ends. - 2 year contract - again, not exactly a negative, but something to be aware of. 2 years sounds scary, but getting a job in your career field for two years isn't bad, and once the two years are up you can do whatever you'd like. The training isn't like regular job training; it's essentially a concentrated, super intensive, educational program for comp-sci. So instead of paying tuition, which you would normally have to pay for that level of education, they ask for your time as a contractor. Those are really the only cons I can think of. And again, those aren't really cons, just definitely things to consider while applying. FDM does a really great job at helping people enter coding fields who wouldn't normally have that chance. If you're looking at FDM and have a strong IT background and can find a job on your own, then definitely look at those points before applying. Internally, as an employee, I cannot think of anything, even caveats, to write.