Pros
- Exceptional company culture. The environment is very casual: I (a low level employee) would not feel awkward at all reaching out to my supervisor, manager, director, CFO, or CEO with my concerns. And the CEO can be found walking around talking to employees in jeans and a button-down shirt. Pretty cool.
- Promotion opportunities. I've read some other reviewers that list this as a con, but I think they couldn't be further from the truth. TN really needs good, intelligent people, especially in engineering. But guess what: software development is hard work. You're not going to be able to sit all day on Facebook (or Glassdoor >.>) and expect a promotion. Make it clear you want to move up, work hard, and get noticed.
- Flexibility. Sick? Sure you can take sick time, or you can just work from home. Snowing? Don't risk it: work from home. Commute from an hour away and it starts raining fire during work hours? The company will spot you a hotel room. Very convenient.
- Good work/life balance. Don't confuse this with short hours; you are expected to put in your 40+ a week. However, the company encourages recreation (people play ping pong and poker on breaks) and sponsors a huge number of clubs for its size. If you're interested in something, it's either already here or you can create it yourself.
- Perks. Let me know if you find another company that has free meals (a $5,000/yr value, easily), coffee, soda, popcorn, a gym, a ping pong table, a pool table, and frequent company-sponsored events, parties, and luncheons. Oh, and there is a limo service.
Cons
Lest you think I am just trying to sell the company, let me include some of my criticism of the company.
- Disorganized middle management. Most of management is competent (or better), they just have a tough time getting projects and initiatives moving. Politics do play an important role here.
- Salary. This has been explained elsewhere as well, but starting salaries are not very competitive, though you can live on them. Perks (mostly the food) make up for this somewhat.
- Communication. Don't confuse this to mean availability; most employees and managers are very open to conversation. However, most is done through instant messaging... not the most effective solution.
