Pros
By far, most work there for the brand name "Sony". You can go to a store anywhere in the world, and see a product you worked on. If someone asks where you work, and you reply Sony, they know who you work for. Another good reason to work at Sony is that the company is so wasteful that you are likely to pick up all sorts of castoffs as they are thrown out. This can be anything from a perfectly good remote control to a vehicle that they no longer want.
Cons
All groups are like independent companies. No one shares anything. By groups, i mean anything like an entire division like Vaio asking the flat panel TV group for a tool, and the TV group either saying "go buy your own" or "lets get your budget code!" Or, groups can be just 2 or 3 people within the same business unit. If those guys own something, and you need it, forget it. I have had to hire in temps just to get help in my group while other groups have useful human resources sitting chatting (in Japanense), or surfing the internet. Also, I have worked there for many years, and never once has anyone offered to train me (or anyone else) on anything. No one gets trained for any job. At Sony job "training" is eithics, or company security. I have not received on piece of new information since I have worked there. However, the Japan side does receive a very fair amount of traing and mentorship.. In some case Sony will put an american employee with a Japanense member so the American can train them. This is very typical for someone that is hired with a special skill, that japan must have. It's also taboo to talk directly to anyone higher up than your group manager. No one does, and we all know what will happen if you go over your manager's head to his boss. You will be eliminated. Advancement happens to those that keep their mouth shut, do their work, and praise the decisions of their managers. One could stay there for years, just keeping their head down and agreeing with everything. Job loss comes quick to those who don't play along, try to make changes, or doubt the company. Stroking the egos of the Japanese engineers will take you far. If you work as an engineer in San Diego, here's what to look forward to: Your ideas will never be heard (they don't even want to hear your ideas!). Creative aspects of the job is all done in Japan. Engineering in San Diego are nothing more than debuging and modification of Japan's mistakes. The IT computer network is terrible, email is limited, and there's plenty of down time. We can't even share files with the plants in Mexico, or Japan. Any file must be emailed, or put on a CD and mailed to the recepient. Even though Sony makes computers, very few if any are ever replaced. My desk computer is a PIII built in 1996. Sony has not bought new software in at least 8 years. The office still uses WinXP, and Office 2003. New tools must be snuck in, and so many computers run pirate software just so we can get our jobs done. After Sony's IT staff get's your computer and sets it up on the network, the computer will run so slow that it's basically useless. I just bring my computer in from home, and use a sprint card to do real work (like CAD). Tools are hard to come by at Sony. Another part of the silo problem. I can't even find a screw driver half of the time to take apart a TV. If you need something like a DVM, forget it, you'll never find one unless you have one bought for you, and hord it at your desk under lock and key. O'scopes are everywhere, but scope probes are nowhere, so we just don't use the O'scopes. Who knows how many issues are misseed because. Expect a lot of "Cost Down Activity". It's just part of the job. If you came in as say a "audio engineer", expect to one day to just be moved to some other job without them consulting you first. One day your the sound guy and the next, your working on tuners, and with no training. My job has changed on me about 4 times now. Sooner or later this is what will drive someone to quit. Expect your desk to moved at least every 6 months, and your manager to be changed about every year. Plan on working at least 10 hours a day, and when needed 12, or even 20. Weekends at Sony are typically work days for most engineers. No, you won't get paid for the overtime. If you find a serious problem, be prepared to prove it with plenty of data. Almost as if you were going to court. If you don't the problem will stay or get solved by someone who had the time to prove it with "data" If a manager doesn't want to hear about your issue, expect to present even more data and reports to prove it. Even then, Management may know of the short coming and decide it's a business decision to ship the product with a known defect. Also be prepared for lifers that are basically useless, to you, the company and the customer. They stay until they are offered early retirement. Some of these guys have worked for Sony for 30+ years. Watch for the egos of the Japanese engineers. You will need to be humble to them. Expect to work for years, and never get noticed or advanced. Don't expect to be doing "design work" Design is not done in San Diego. Oh, and no job is safe. A downturn, and Sony will fire entire divisions with little or no warnings when money is tight. There's no loyalty to US members. Sony typically offers no stock options, pension, or carreer managment. They do offer 401k match, but the funds in it are not too good, even in good times. If you're looking for a fun engineering job, in an open culture, with creativity, then keep looking. Sony Electronics is not for you.
