Electronic Arts

Whatever you need to do, the resources exist. You might need to walk across the building to get them, but you can get just about whatever parts you need.

The facilities are great. I worked at the Burnaby location, and the sports facilities are top notch.

If you're doing testing work, don't count on your contract being renewed. They hire around dev cycles, which is standard, but know that if you're going in for a testing job the odds of it being a long-term gig are not stellar. There are simply too many people who would like to keep working when there's not enough work to go around.

Enforcement of the employee/contractor divide seemed very arbitrary. Your co-workers would typically invite you to partake in whatever was being offered, but if you're a contractor, then there are lots of things you're not technically allowed to do or take part in. It rarely gets brought up, which makes it all the more jarring when someone chooses to put their foot down about it. Frankly, sticking with one attitude or the other would be fine, but suddenly getting in trouble about having a beer on Friday with everyone else, as you had been invited to do from the start, can feel pretty alienating, as you have someone stand there and tell you that you don't get the same rights as your friends.

There are some communication issues between departments at times. I was present when half our team got reassigned to a completely different duty in a different part of the building, and our team leads were hearing about it at the same time we were (and reeling as they tried to then cope with being drastically understaffed for what they needed to do in the thick of crunch). Agile development is one thing, but when there are this many problems cropping up, it stops feeling agile at all and just seems like the people running the show are confused.

Just remember that contractors are people too.

Also, continue to try and find more space for desks. Some areas do not have the seating they need for the work being done.