Taro Logo

Sometimes the best, sometimes the worst

Director, Software Development
Current Employee
Has worked at eBay for 4 years
April 4, 2014
San Jose, California
4.0
RecommendsNeutral OutlookApproves of CEO
Pros

Good benefits, a lot of great people, and some interesting and challenging projects on the cutting edge of technology.

The company provides a lot of training and free access to valuable resources for personal and professional growth, for both technologists and managers.

There are a lot of opportunities to grow within the company or make a lateral shift by moving to another team or project.

Cons

eBay has a heavily overloaded and complex hierarchical structure with multiple tiers of management. It might be interesting for people who want to grow in management ranks, but it's definitely not the right culture for the majority of start-up folks who are acquired by eBay year over year.

If you need a real-life application of Parkinson's Law on bureaucracies that multiply themselves, this is a place to come and see it. A self-sustained manager cohort grows, projects could be turned down the "next day" they started, the same thing could be worked on by multiple independent teams in different departments, rewards are often given to unrelated but favored managers, and people on the front lines in the actual teams who do the work are ignored – all of this can be found here.

Advice to Management

I wish the leadership team initiatives started in the couple of last years come true one day, and the currently "rather good" company becomes a great and enduring company. I believe this is the right thing to do, yet there's still a long road to go.

Was this helpful?

eBay Interview Experiences