Pros
This is a company doing very important work for the world. For GIS people, Esri is ground zero. The Redlands campus has the highest concentration of GIS intelligence on the planet. But it's also a global company with a footprint in virtually every country in the world. This is a smart, fun, interesting, and interested collection of people. ArcGIS products set the industry standards literally. If you've got the skills and like to work hard, the pay can be quite good. Not Silicon Valley level pay, but pretty darn good and getting more competitive. Cost of living in Redlands is half of Santa Clara, if that. Redlands is a nice little town, detached enough from the So Cal megalopolis to feel separate. Palm Springs, mountains, beaches all close by. The COVID situation has proven that this company cares about employees. We have actually pivoted beautifully to remote work. Jack and Laura Dangermond are titans of the tech world, but also conservationists (look up Dangermond Preserve). One last thing: this place is financially rock solid. In an age of venture capital and fly-by-night startups, this company is privately held, has zero debt, and growing steadily for decades into a multi-billion dollar concern. Business schools should study how this place is run.
Cons
Upper management is well entrenched, which is only a con for middle managers trying to break into the inner circle.
