Bank of America

Big names look good on a resume.

There is some opportunity to work with technologies you may not have had exposure to before.

Benefits are alright, though you would expect more from a big company.

Compensation is in line with the average, but money doesn't seem to be a problem for them. They are a bank.

Good work/life balance. You basically put in your 8 hours and go home. There are no rewards for extra effort or "going the extra mile"; in fact, they actively discourage it.

Most teams are scattered all over the place, so you never work face-to-face. Everything is phone and Skype. I worked there a little over a year and never even met my boss.

Very restrictive. It's "my way or the wrong way." They only want devs who can follow precise instructions, with no room for ideas, suggestions, or any deviation. You do exactly the task, the way they tell you. Nothing more or less.

Dull, boring work. Most of the applications are already built, so you'll spend all your time working on other people's code. There is no opportunity to carve your own space there.

Turf wars and company politics are rampant. If you're new, be prepared to do the work no one else wants to do. You'll get put on bad projects with other bad developers and bad leaders.

Don't go to HR about anything! They talk a big game about an open-door policy and all that, but my experience was just the opposite. Verbally abusive managers often skated with no consequences, while anyone who submits any sort of complaint gets punished.

I'm not sure management even knows what is going on in the trenches, or if they would even care. There are so many layers of management, and every layer is its own little fiefdom. It's a super cut-throat environment of big-time corporate politics.