General Motors

For anyone coming right out of college and going into the job market with no practical experience, I highly recommend working with GM. It may take you a few months after starting to get into your rhythm, or you may be able to jump right in, depending on how well established the team you are joining is. This is a great place to work toward being a full-stack developer. I've been exposed to so many new technologies and processes since I started.

All the direct managers, and even their managers that I've interacted with, have been really great. I've also gotten lots of advice on how to grow my career with GM. The vacation time is crazy good, and you have unlimited sick days (assuming, of course, that you are a responsible adult and don't abuse that policy).

Working from home/telecommuting is discouraged, and I think this is a pro. Of course, if you are sick, you have a sick kid, or car trouble, or something like that, then it's fine. I like this because it encourages people to be in the building so you can talk to who you need to and get help in person if needed.

Base salary is at the bottom of the barrel for the new college hire program, but you do get raises every 6 months for the first three years. There is a yearly bonus as well to consider.

Sometimes I can't get my job done in a timely fashion because I have 10 things I need to get done, but I'm not allowed to do them myself. I have to wait for a specific tools team to do them for me, and these teams tend to be swamped with work all the time. It can be pretty frustrating at times.

The health insurance is a double-edged sword. If you don't need to use it, the low monthly cost is great. If you have a medical condition, though, you are stuck paying completely out of pocket until you hit the deductible, which is pretty high.

Try to help your employees down the chain by simplifying some of the processes and making sure any changes are documented and announced.

Sometimes you find a resource for how to get what you need, then you try it out and it gets rejected. Someone informs you they have a totally new system in place, but you didn't even know it existed before, and now you have to start all over at square one with a new process.