F5 reviews

3.8

72% would recommend to a friend

(1,972 total reviews)
avatar

Francois Locoh-Donou

80% approve of CEO

61% positive business outlook

F5 has an employee rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, based on 1,972 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The F5 employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Information Technology industry (3.9 stars).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews
1.0
Dec 23, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Good Gym :: good coworkers::Job security - nobody is fired :::

Cons

Too much politics ::: nobody is ever fired no matter how incompetent: :: lack of good management; middle management is filled with yes men (and women) ::: Lowball salary offers ::: Lack of training ::: few growth opportunities ::: 18 months until you get a spot in the garage ::: horrible parking otherwise::: horrible commute ::: not much to eat nearby ::: dangerous parking lot ::: no game room ::: voted best to work based on email blasts to marketing and sales employees, while others are too busy working to care::: work/life balance is inconsistent between groups ::: good 'ol boy network is strong ::: company values brown-nosing over competence ::: engineering building lacks adequate restroom facilities (imagine going up and downstairs and across the campus just to find a stall) ::: horrible new "open" spaces where you cannot concentrate without headphones - collaboration was killed with this new waste of company money ::: support engineers forced to work without lights, under some terrible managers ::: extremely high cost of living ::: traffic is a mess and is about to get much worse with 2 huge companies moving closeby. F5 is very inconveniently located as nobody can live nearby with the miniscule salaries they pay and it can take an hour just to get i5 . :::: Much happens in secret at F5.

2.0
Oct 13, 2015

Not impressed

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Location is great if you live in Ballard or Magnolia. Work/life is respected (generally emails can be ignored until work hours). Pay is probably fine if you are in a tech engineering role. New executive leadership in place (too soon to tell).

Cons

I've been here over a year now and not impressed. The management culture is highly distrustful for a high tech company - for example, employees are discouraged to work from home, no matter their commute and whether or not they have meetings that day. Managers are average to poor quality, as most have only worked at F5 or seem to be castoffs from elsewhere (my experience), so they are more concerned about protecting their space than helping you achieve your goals. My annual review (they are still doing this, which is loosely tied to pay), was one of the most paper-intensive and least helpful reviews I've ever had. They remodeled my team into an open environment, the only plus being a desk that performs stand up and sit down. It is too loud without white noise, and when you stand up you are weirdly exposed to the entire floor, plus they can't seem to control the temperature adequately. Really have noticed my productivity going down, especially for tasks which require reflection and thinking, which we could do this from home more effectively. For a company that's supposed to be a Seattle darling, I'm not seeing it.

5.0
Dec 10, 2014
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

There are so many pros to working at F5. I would say that the top of the list is the company culture is one of integrity, and one that values the employee as a human, not as a cog in the machine. The Salary and benefits are amazing. I have full family health insurance that is 100% paid by F5. I do not have $ taken out of my check for the premium. Stock grants, ESPP, 401k matching, donation matching, and vacation time are at or above what I consider standard for the Tech industry. Did I mention "Beer Friday"? The company is growing, and that means career opportunities are plentiful, F5 is very consciously protecting the company culture even though the company has doubled in size in less than five years. I've been at other companies where rapid growth destroyed the company culture.

Cons

F5 is growing at a rapid pace and some of the backend systems have yet to be upgraded. But hey if the only real pain I have to experience is struggling with an antiquated system to request PTO then I'll deal with it.

Viewing 31 - 33 of 1,972 Reviews

Glassdoor has 2,180 F5 reviews submitted anonymously by F5 employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if F5 is right for you.