Driving and inside operations jobs are physically grueling compared with typical jobs. While your average Marine or construction worker would think it was easy, the majority of the population find it to be one of the toughest things they've ever done, and many can't do it well. This "truck driver" mentality still extends into management, and though the company has multiple work life balance initiatives, it is difficult to do many operations management jobs properly and work less than 55-60 hours per week. For the engineers, in can sometimes be difficult to implement operating plans with operations people who work 10-15 hours per week more you do. The operations management team will feel the engineering team doesn't understand the challenges they face.
Another significant downside for some people is that in order to advance into middle management or beyond you have to be willing to relocate to another area at a moment's notice. This may have been fine in the Ozzie & Harriet days of one income earner. Today, it excludes a majority of people who find themselves in two income families where the spouse cannot relocate, or divorced parents who don't want to move their children far from their other parents.
