- Top down approach, coming from managers that often have an academic background rather than technical... this is so frustrating as you see naive and obsolete ideas coming from above. Worse, they hardly get discussed as even senior employees are not involved in the decision process... usually people with years of experience in the industry have to follow very idealistic projects. Result, people leave, in numbers.
- Management in general is not qualified. As people managers, as technical managers and in other ways too. Many seem to come to meetings telling ideas read from a management book the night before, often quoting the source in attempt somehow legitimate themselves (...). It's appalling and you'll soon miss better employers. Moreover, you keep wondering why they are managers and you are not. I spend so much time to make upper levels understand things and consequences of certain choices, it's an exercise in communication for sure.
- Instead of putting in practice industry standard solutions, we work on overcomplicated projects that few believe in. Sometimes they are even outdated stuff that never took off (like semantic web...).
- OFTEN WATERFALL project management, although there is a lot of effort in going agile, when a major problem arises we revert to waterfall. The problem is again the academic management that is used to that.
- POOR SOCIAL LIFE, rare company events or team building initiatives. The situation in made even worse by the fact that the average age in the office is higher than other places... I don't have a problem with it, but that, together with no efforts from the management will make you feel like your merriest days on the workplace are gone for good.
- Final note: the company is controversial now and many countries are considering banning it from universities because they make them pay too much for access to research. Management is freaking and trying everything to save the day. Many think the company is f...d and just doing their own interest as long as it lasts.
