Apple

You get tremendous satisfaction working on products impacting the lives of millions in the world.

You don't get to publish as a researcher, don't have a lot of freedom in your research, and are also expected to do a lot of hands-on engineering work yourself.

But then you have flexible hours, unlimited funding, really practical applications with great impact, and industry-leading brains to learn from.

There is a great emphasis on work-life balance, as you get long paternity leave, aren't expected to work on weekends, and you get to choose how you space your daily work hours.

Since the idea to product lifecycle is really long, research moves slow. You don't get to publish, discuss, or collaborate with anyone outside. Growth may be slow and difficult, as you've to really struggle to shine in a basket full of diamonds.

Spend more on employee education; the current $5k barely lets you take a single graduate course.

Please make free engineering dinners open to all employees without conditions.