An Honest Review; Go In with Eyes Open
Pros
- If you negotiate well, salary can be reasonable. - Due to high levels of attrition there are lots of opportunity for moving up. - There is a real layer of middle-management that cares and is the only reason this place limps along. - If you are on the right team (Sling, Dish 5G) the tech stack is modern enough to not atrophy your career and work on interesting problems. - It's a job and they pay you for working.
Cons
- Easily the worst health care plan ever seen at a technology company. (5000$ deductible!) - If you badge (physically) into the office after 9am (yes even 9:02am) not only does your boss get an email but your boss' boss gets an email. Work from home is a complete non-starter here; don't even ask. - Do you know those executives that post motivational messages on LinkedIn about how to lead from behind or how to be "a servant-leader" to your teammates like they actually follow them? This is a place chock-a-block full of those guys. - For a company with 2 bil. in revenue the perks/benefits are amazingly bad. No commuter programs, snack machines with fossilized candy, a "renovated" office of cubicle farms and hotel desks with no color and fluorescent lights. - Want sudo access to your machine? If you get approval from higher-ups that takes a week or two. - Simple IT functions are pretty terrible. You get faster Internet if you tether your laptop to your phone and VPN back into the network than to use the WiFi system. - You know how you read about those companies using network sniffers and webcam malware to snoop while you/your work? That's this place. - Not only is the office in a suburb park with no identifiable food options but you get the pleasure of a cafe with 3 sandwich options. (It is cheap, though, to be fair.) - You know how companies figured out if you give employees branded gear they act like free adverts for your brand? You have to pay for that here. Company emails never forget to remind you there is a store accessible to employees that you can buy your company branded merch. from so you can wear it to work. - If you are in tech you should know there is very little "engineering" going on here. They place is full of a bunch of systems integrators all trying to see everything as a nail. - Developers have no say in their toolset; every developer hates working through Google Chat but Slack is banned. Oh, did I mention the view of the golf course while you work? Nothing like seeing the over privileged play the back 9 while you toil away. But seriously. This place is the definition of toxic management culture and failed employee policies. Any executive that has 30%+ attrition year over year in their org would be fired on the spot but not here. They insulate themselves from their failures through multiple layers of middle-managers which take all the heat. Under what circumstance would I recommend this place to someone? Only if you are a mercenary, understand the rules of the road and don't mind control-freak/antiquated policies, processes, and management mindset. Make sure your deal with the devil is weighed heavily in your favor/desire because this is the McDonalds of tech companies. This is not a tech company, this is a business that happens to sell/deal in technology and is "burdened" by needing those fungible engineers. Engineers are seen as fickle, spoiled, and replaceable at a moments notice by consultants. It's also worth noting that to boost the stock price every so often there is a round of layoffs even when there are hundreds of open positions. Rotating door, little progress, and massive attrition. Good luck to you!
