Apple

• Smart co-workers
• Always something new.
• Benefits rock.
• It's Apple: Smart, savvy, passionate people who care about their products.
• Stock grants.

• Sadly, not a lot of salary growth past hiring.

• They prefer stock grants to raises beyond inflation adjustment.

• Large, organic organization.

• Things have improved, but there are lots of silos to protect from leaks.

• Sometimes that means the left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing.

• The people at the top do, but you're a bit of a mushroom.

• Ever-growing middle management.

• More departmental politics than there used to be.

Don't let middle management shield you from what's actually going on in the company.