National Instruments reviews

Great Benefits Good work life balance People are great to work with

As with any review, note that my experiences are but one anecdote of many. Job satisfaction is a complicated thing that is defined differently for everyone, but for me personally the biggest factor is whether I feel like I have the opportunity to learn new things and apply that learning to something meaningful, and that success will be rewarded with new opportunities to lead and learn in the future. After my first several years here I felt my career stagnating and found myself on LinkedIn and Glassdoor casually looking at what else was out there, something I hadn't really done since I started working. Many of these alternatives paid more but most lacked the kind of culture or worthwhile products that I appreciate about NI. I finally discussed with my manager that I needed some new challenges, and was pleased to find he was on board and I'm now in a much better place, enjoying what I'm doing, learning a lot, and feeling more confident and valuable. All this is to say, don't underestimate the value of enjoying what you're doing day-to-day, as that can make up for a lot of shortcomings (which I'll list in the cons). That said, I don't find NI to have that many shortcomings. It's a large company getting larger, and that will come with some tradeoffs and growing pains, and we're not in a super high-growth, high-margin or high-volume industry like some other companies. Generally, I have appreciated the stability that NI's conservative leadership fosters, even if it means we're not aggressive with things like pay increases. Things that I still really appreciate about NI and would miss elsewhere: - Work-life balance. I mostly work 40 hours a week, and when I work more I understand the reasons why. - Smart, friendly coworkers. - Beautiful campus. I love taking walks on the trails when I just need a break from my desk. - On-campus clinic is a huge time-saver. - Employee Stock Purchase Plan is a nice financial bonus that isn't factored into salary. - Management (at least in R&D) doesn't strike me as very political and seems to take a rational approach to most decisions. Not everyone is equally competent, but I do think most everyone does their best and tries to be up-front with their staff. - Great products. I'm proud of what we make and how our customers use our products.