Pros: Good people, interesting technologies to work with/on. They offered Apache Camel, JAXB, Groovy, Java (of course), Cassandra, and Oracle. They also gave me a high-end 15-inch MacBook Pro for my development machine.

Cons: Requirements can be ill-defined or non-existent. There are too many silos, which means you have too many chains of management that have to be involved in almost every decision, and it slows things down quite a bit.

Pros: During my employ at AT&T, the company has gone through a great deal of change. This is, I feel, what makes them such a good employer, as they adapt to the times. Overall, I saw AT&T as three very different companies in this progression. First was the old monopoly, more commonly known as Bell Telephone Company. Next, it was the long-distance leader that grew into an internet and cell powerhouse. Lastly, since SBC came in and the merger of other former Bell Tel. companies, we find some of the early monopoly mentality that is merged with the growth of new and innovative services.

Cons: The latest version of AT&T still has too much of the "we know best" monopolistic attitude. Additionally, while they do still have a great benefits package, more and more of it erodes away every year.

Pros: Advancement opportunities abound for women, minorities, and foreign nationals only.

Cons: Fractured company culture due to many mergers and acquisitions over the years. Experiences can vary widely depending on what part of the company you work for.