Great first job, but abysmal Software Engineering salaries compared to greater market
Pros
Monetary benefits are almost unparalleled in the industry, which somewhat makes up for lower salaries. 401k matching is 12.5% (5% of base salary safe harbor + 75¢/1$ matching up to 10% of base salary contributed). There is a $0 out of pocket high deductible health plan that comes with $500 annual HSA employer contribution (uses to be $1000). No bonuses to be found here, but there is usually a $200-300 cash gift before Christmas, and $20 cash around Thanksgiving to go towards a turkey. As far as work culture, it is very team dependent, but for what still feels like a very corporate, office-centric company trying half heartedly to be fun and flexible, I found the work life balance to be incredible. People are generally smart, competent, and easy to work with, but work normal hours and enjoy their families and hobbies outside of work. I found nothing toxic with the management or the culture. Employees are treated like humans here, in my experience. The PTO policy is decent for America. 22 days a year after 4 years of service. You can roll over an almost unlimited amount year to year, and I never felt pressured not to use it. It does have cash value and gets paid out when/if you leave, which is nice...and often unrealized benefit over "unlimited" or "flexible" policies. The 45% discount on Garmin devices is fantastic if you're into Running, Cycling, or anything else they make products for. The employee stock purchase plan is average.
Cons
Salaries just aren't competitive for software development, and even though I noticed more effort to catch up before I left, there is a long way to go. I was offered and accepted a 25% higher base salary for a fully remote job I had next to no relevant experience for (starting over as a SWE1) without even shopping around much. Even with Garmin's great benefits, it came out to an over 10% compensation increase. With rapid inflation and housing prices being an immediate issue, it's hard to justify staying at a company that ties most of its compensation to 401k. Garmin is a great company to work for, and is doing well financially, so I hope they choose to invest in their employees and procuring new talent more in the future. HQ is pretty far south in the KC metro, and Garmin has committed to a 3 days in-office hybrid schedule last time I checked, which may not be ideal for younger folks wanting to be close to events and social activities in KC. I noticed many employees were older and lived in neighborhoods closer to Garmin. More flexibility with working remote would be better for teams or employees who don't need to be in office to get their work done.
