CVS Health

Some opportunity to learn and grow in tech stack knowledge.

Work-life balance can be very good. Remote work was a cultural norm until after the pandemic; then the tide reversed a bit.

Pay can be okay, but only if you jump around or negotiate hard upon hire. Otherwise, it's dismal for the effort expectations.

In the prior 30 years, there had never been general layoffs.

Some genuinely amazing people to work with, though few of them stick around long enough to make a difference.

• You can't be promoted within a team unless someone else is punished (I believe they lose their annual bonus, or it's greatly reduced).
• The Medicaid org is a cash cow for the enterprise – it's a 'boiler room'. It lacks tools, budget, and talent to flourish.
• So much mediocrity. So few in IT are engaged. We are still in the caveman days of getting devs to consistently use source control. The vast majority of QA 'testers' don't know a lick of code and inspect everything manually.
• Though layoffs are often a good (albeit painful) thing for both sides, for some reason I was sad to see that 30-year reputation washed away in 2023. I guess it was just a 'neat' thing in this day and age.

We seem to know where to stop, just short of killing the golden goose. Or do we?