Pros
A stable company that will be around for years to come. Although there was a lot of talk that the recession hit Timken business units hard and hence the reason for the massive layoffs in 2008 and 2009, Timken was never in any trouble at all. The layoffs were unnecessary and so were the forced furloughs that remaining employees had to endure (forced working days without pay). For years they had talked about reducing headcount to pre-year 2000 levels and used the recession as a reason to do so. The company now runs lean and mean. It's a recognized name. The company has properly positioned itself in key business lines which will require Timken specific products for decades to come. It's stock is proof that it is solid.
Cons
There's little room for advancement other than a few small pay jumps. Most people stay at the same or near same level all the way through their career. Job titles are meaningless - they make them and eliminate them, just about any movement is "lateral" ... same pay, same responsibilities, different title. Management is hired from outside the company, so forget about the old days when you would rise through the ranks. To be a manager you have to be hired in as a manager. Same with education. If you are hired in with a, Associates Degree, BA or BS, if you get a Masters later on while working at Timken ... it won't help you either in advancement nor pay increase. You have to come in already with a Masters or PhD to get those salary levels. The medical benefits have steadily declined and gotten worse over the last 4 years. The good ol' boy network is still alive at Timken. Make sure you find and pony up with the "right people" when you're first hired or you will go nowhere. Keep good ideas to yourself, the business ethics internally at Timken are basically non-existent ... colleagues will and do poach each others' ideas and present them to management as their own in hopes of getting brownie points. And if you have a family with young children ... this is not the company for you. As I was told my first day, Timken comes first ... always. Your family life is a distant second. You will take work home. You will work weekends and holidays uncompensated. You will schedule your family's life around the needs of Timken. In this economy, Timken has no problem getting rid of those who do not adhere to this policy in the morning and having them replaced with someone else by lunchtime. In Canton, Ohio - Timken's will is law and Ohio is an AT WILL state. TImken can be a very hostile work environment.