Mixed bag so far. Not looking like a long term employee for me
Pros
Benefits - The health insurance is amazing...unless you're used to California health benefits. Then apparently they're mediocre. Diverse Coworkers Respectable mission - At least on the surface ESRI works with several key non-profits and government entities that are tackling environmental and societal problems
Cons
Base pay below market - I was offered below market pay for my seniority and experience, but I was able to negotiate to a fair market wage. I definitely wouldn't have been able to move closer to the main Redlands campus with the hourly rate they first offered. Mediocre vacation and sick leave - Unless you negotiate otherwise you'll only start with a week of vacation that you accrue slowly over a year. They try to offset this by saying you can bank you overtime as vacation, meaning you have to work more for the vacation/sick benefits other companies give as default. So I'm working longer hours than I did for a company that offered unlimited vacation/sick time just to have two weeks a year. It's bonkers. And they really make you work for it, depending on the department and role you're in. Toxic office politics - This is where I am struggling the most with ESRI and it's really a shame. There is an outward inclusive and progressive vibe to the company that PR really spends the time and effort to promote lately. The reality is, new talent is not supported, old guard employees (with 20+ years experience) have lost the ability and/or desire to empathize and communicate with the majority of young, new talent which leads to some of the most bewilderingly toxic dynamics I've ever seen. In a nutshell, everyone is "nice" on the surface, but uncaring and tunnel-visioned during work hours. Management have worked with the company for 20+ years and haven't experienced their role outside of this company, meaning they feel safe and yet also insecure with young talent and new technology. They're also delusional. They have too much free range to do whatever they want based off of internet articles or books they've read about the technology they're working with. As a result, everything is weirdly over-engineered and over-processed but all of the rules fly out the window at the same time in order to get a project completed. If people like you that's all that really matters, you'll be promoted quickly. Meanwhile, managers are abusive to employees who refuse to go above and beyond or fall in line with the ideology or vision of whoever is the cult of personality in charge. On top of all of this, people higher up the chain of command, with decades old grudges and their own draconian methods and standards, make it difficult for everyone downstream to do their job, so you're dragged into political battles to just get a project started or completed. I've had access to tools I use daily randomly revoked "just because." Absolutely zero communication between departments. Favoritism/Lack of clear promotion process - See above. You can be terrible at your job and get promoted quickly and you can break your back for years and get nowhere if your manager doesn't think you deserve it based on their own set of standards. Standards for being promoted within your role are determined by what your manager thinks rather than any sort of company standard for the role. Technology - ESRI seems to be behind with implementing modern tech into their software and data dev environments. People take so long to implement anything new that it basically fails or is obsolete upon launch.