If you value work-life balance, this is not the best option for employment. Expect to churn out work like a factory, with little to no appreciation of work done. The only time management will comment on your work is when it was not to completed to their expectations, and during annual review.
There is more work to do than there are people to do it. Sometimes your manager/supervisor will inflate the urgency of work, which you can complete and then have it sitting on a desk to be reviewed for another two weeks. You'll always feel behind unless you're willing to work 55+ hours a week, and also made to feel like an under-performing employee if you don't put in those hours. There are cars at the office before 6:30AM, cars at the office after 7:30PM, cars at the office on the weekends. Because they pay you when you work OT, they expect you to work OT.
- PMs / VPs can be hit or miss; some great engineers do not make great managers
- Attitude of upper management can be condescending
- there is an open door policy but depending on your boss, you probably won't feel comfortable using it
- As others have mentioned, no use of music during work hours. Depending on coworkers in the vicinity, this can be very annoying. There are chatty people, heavy breathers, snackers...
- 2 weeks for first 7 years of employment and expect jokes when you actually utilize your vacation time
- Can be a pro for some, but very traditional and conservative
- Very little formal training for new hires except through videos (to be watched/studied on your own time) and occasional lunch and learns. Expected to learn from asking/watching others, who may or may not have time for you. On the other end of the spectrum, when training others, you are expected to maintain productivity
