Pros
Competitive pay, job security (no lay off), subsidize lunch
Cons
Poor benefits, no stock options, little vacation, poor management, demoralizing environment, big egos, terrible infrastructure (poor IT support, ineffective internal processes etc.) If you’re a talented designer, or a designer with any integrity, Samsung’s UX Center is not for you, unless you join the right lab. Some UX labs have deceiving titles, where "innovation" is completely overrated. Lab director (or Manager) is incompetent, with absolutely no idea how to run an effective UX team. Full blown office politics, where people fight a lot to get attention. There is no collaboration within even a small team, and the manager is too incompetent to resolve any conflicts. The management level is eager to please our Korea HQ, but constantly fails to convince. The only thing this lab director cares about is the number of patents filed, so he can look good and receive his year-end bonus. Full-blown favoritism is in constant display. Some Sr. level designers don’t even have any design background, nor do they design anything. But the management will always protect them while other team members are sacrificed instead. Designers are treated like tools within the lab, even when they are the most pivotal role in the design lab. Here are some tips I learned to survive in Samsung’s UXC: 1. Please your manager, do not challenge them. 2. Always remember your manager can be a jealous animal (who'll be threatened if you outshine them in front of other VPs from HQ or the Center) 3. Forget about HR, they’re utterly useless and will never be on your side 4. Learn how to deal with big egos 5. Learn how to be happy in an extremely demotivating environment.
