Pros
- I got a paycheck on-time every couple weeks. - There are definitely a few very good individual contributors (and one good, skilled, earned-their-chops-the-real-way manager), but they leave or get let go more often than not.
Cons
- Constant cost-cutting efforts undermine the stability of the product by laying off/firing engineers that question management and downsizing infrastructure. - Security and compliance concerns are brushed aside regularly. I can't go into more detail about that. - Management designs stuff in closed door meetings, and dumps it on your desk to implement with unrealistic timelines, not to mention half the time it's just not the right approach. Don't question it though, or you'll have a target on your back! - Anything that could fix issues or make your job better needs to be a "homework project" if it doesn't align with current sprint goals (aka management's weekly whims). That means you do the work on your own time. - Be prepared to get pulled into each and every Production issue, even if you're not on-call. The pool of engineers is so small, it's constantly an "all hands on deck" situation when the product inevitably collapses in on itself every few days. - If you're not part of the family (either blood related, or been with the company for 7+ years) you are not considered important. You suggestions will be ignored. - You'll stop being asked to participate in meetings if you question a "family member" or bring up anything that resembles opposing their viewpoint. - Any concerns about my job I brought to my manager during our 1-on-1's (of which I think I had maybe one every quarter) were refuted because THEIR situation was MUCH worse than mine. 1-on-1's with them ended up being more like counseling sessions for them than working out concerns I had about work. - My SO told me several times to quit, even though I had no job prospects lined up. "Don't worry about money, you just have to get out of there! That place is terrible!" That's how bad it was. - The job description you've been presented is almost completely lies. No matter which one it is. Seriously.
