Adobe

Fun people, interesting research, creative products, and customers.

Adobe has some of the smartest folks in the world contributing to some amazing tools.

Every year sees another reduction in benefits and opportunity. Salaries are lower than the industry average due to a previous profit-sharing program, which was canceled without salary adjustments. Opportunities for advancement are minimal, with much hiring done outside the company. Projects are often canceled suddenly or compete internally with other teams, and major applications are routinely sent for maintenance development in India or China.

The reliance on Flash/AIR for internal tool development limits the abilities of teams to accomplish their goals more easily and reduces inter-team communication. The shift toward advertising metrics is pushing creative tools development to the side. A lack of leadership at the top leaves many teams wondering what is in store for them.

Multiple quarters of record revenue should not result in large benefit reductions for the employees who contributed to that success. The advertising and online metrics business is important, but its success should not need to come at the detriment of the creative business.