Electronic Arts

Compensation is good; benefits are great. You get some free games if you are interested.

Company has huge "Not Invented Here" syndrome. If you are that kind of person who wants to have a CV filled with lines like:

• Optimized custom implementation of std::vector
• Created custom database engine

you will fit in just perfectly.

Company has a policy against internal mobility. That means if the company has a vacancy for a Senior SE and you are fit for it, you cannot apply for the position unless you quit the company first.

I did not believe it at first and talked to multiple managers and HR to get as many confirmations as possible. That's true: the only way to get to a higher position in EA is to sit tight and wait for your manager to promote you (when someone higher up quits).

And yet again, the huge "Not Invented Here" syndrome. The experience you get in EA has virtually no value for the outer world. So you can build a project with an internal EA tool, you can debug EA's internal memcached copycat, you know everything about three different internal frameworks - good for you, but you will never find another company to use them.

Management constantly swings between trends. I've been involved in a project which switched project planning tools four times in just eight months. It also changed its application framework halfway through, by the way.

Another widely known fact is the overtime. Management is fine with four hours of "beer Friday," but it will ask you to come in on "Saturday" for four hours of work. And you do not have an option to work a full day on Friday and skip the overtime.

EA uses ancient software. Most of the developers still use Windows OS! Most of the internal sites only work in Internet Explorer! And so on, from the build tools to the project planning software.

Read your own presentations. Be bold. Think consumers first. Innovate. And so on.

The company is still able to attract talented people, but fails to use their talents properly. I've seen too many good developers quitting and bad developers promoted to replace them. That's a problem for management to solve.