General Motors

Good place to start your career if you are ambitious but need support.

Lots of college hires coming in means you make friends in a new city that will probably stay with you for a long time.

The three-year "new college grad" program is a nice steady ramp into an individual contributor role, and depending on the team can be relatively low-stress and supportive.

Exposure to technology is not bad, for a non-software company.

Bonus is good most years (although your work in IT won't have much to do with it; it's mainly due to macroeconomic trends).

Retirement benefits are very good:

• 4% contribution to 401K before you put anything in
• 1-for-1 match the next 4% (although beware of vesting)

The vehicle discounts are worthless, but you're supposed to pretend they are a great benefit.

The office in Austin is a gigantic football field of monotonous, low-wall small cubicles; concentration is difficult.

Amenities in the office are negligible, way below typical suburban office-campus standards.

Compensation after you get there is below market, especially for Austin.

Steer towards your strengths. Build more of a local culture. Improve the god-awful offices, making the office a place people want to come to work.