Apple

None. Do not work here.

I worked as an annotation analyst from the creation of the AIML department in late 2019 until 2022.

I was in the Lavits Quay office in Cork city centre. The job, in short, was to listen and transcribe audio taken by Siri, and to analyze Siri's response to the user.

This role, in my opinion, is completely mind-numbing click work. It is the same task every day: listening and transcribing short audio snippets, thousands every day, and doing a few niche side projects at the side which are equally as tedious.

The job was pretty okay and relaxed at the start in 2019 when the department was in its early stages. As time went by, more emphasis was put on hitting KPIs, which solely measure keystrokes and mouse movements and now require constant attention to meet the targets.

People have left this role due to constant harassment and micromanagement over KPIs. People are constantly micromanaged, and management is always thinking of ways to further oversee employees.

The starting salary is quite poor for Cork, especially working for what's supposed to be the richest multinational in the world. Pay increases are quite low too. Expect to barely make the rate of inflation.

Shares, which take years to cash out, are sometimes given, but in small amounts.

The benefits aren't bad, but they aren't any better than any other multinational.

WFH is uncompetitive, as this role requires you to be in the office three days a week. Other companies offer more working-from-home options.

The office culture can only be described as cult-like. If any issue is brought to the attention of management, it's always shrugged off as, "But you work for Apple. Be glad for that."

You are constantly forced to take part in corporate cringe activities, treated like adult children by management.

There is close to no career progression in this role, as most promotions are given to friends of friends. Management shifts their responsibilities onto analysts by creating new roles with added tasks and no additional pay.

In summary, this job may be tempting for a recent graduate, but I'd still stay away, as the work itself is soul-destroying and the benefits aren't much better than a normal multinational, without all the cons.

Scrap KPIs related to keystrokes or mouse movements.

Stop treating workers like adult children.

Pay a higher starting salary.