Pros
Good Location Reputable Company Was able to work with many different types of technologies Very Challenging work
Cons
There were many rules, most likely designed for call centers, that were applied universally throughout the company like being at your desk by 8, not leaving till after 5, lunch must be at 12, and no flex time or telecommuting. Many of these rules are just not very compatible with IT or software engineering departments. All of the rules were enforced very strictly to the point that it felt like we were under constant surveillance. Managers would constantly be walking around and watching everyone very closely to make sure they were working and not doing anything inappropriate like not surfing the web. Even when I had to get on forums or blogs for research, it was almost inevitable that my supervisor would walk in and peek at my monitor to see what site I was working on. Micromanagement is so ingrained in this culture that even the CEO himself is often monitoring employees. Management seems to be more concerned about everyone adhering to their rigid rules than actually doing a good job. Quality seems to be the least of their concerns, and it really shows in their products. They will even contend that quality is a major issue but seem to ignore the root causes. All engineers are constantly under enormous pressure to get as many things done as possible. For many of us, this created such a hostile environment, that it is difficult to be productive. Management also pressures engineers to put in lots of overtime without realizing that this is the cause of many of their quality issues.