Electronic Arts

It is a great place to learn how to get the job done. Being late with a product is not acceptable, and EA instills a great work ethic to make it happen.

The benefits package is also very good. ESPP, 401K, health, dental, and vision are all very good plans.

The downside to instilling a great work ethic is that teams work their butt off, sometimes unnecessarily. It creates resentment between development teams and their management, and, of course, a lot of stress.

My biggest complaint about EA was that I had no interest in truly moving into a leadership position because I didn't believe in the mid-level management's own leadership. It took me to leave and move to another company before I felt I could shine.

Senior management does a good job ensuring EA is competitive and makes good enough games to deliver profits for shareholders. However, their market share and success has started to erode, mostly due to their shrinking talent pool. In the games industry, a company's moat is largely dependent on the ability to keep the best talent, and I think that EA's management should focus on that for future success.