Pros: Well-known company. Good experience.

Cons: The company has no direction. As soon as the next big thing comes out, they will try to shift the whole company to do that one thing. They are always late to the party and competing with companies that actually hire top talent. Layoffs are commonplace, and unless you are working on the current thing, you are at risk.

Pros: Smart, dedicated co-workers; some vestiges of the old collegiality at the working level.

Cons: IBM's business model is totally out of date. They are now being marginalized by new players like Google, Amazon, etc., and old competitors like HP-Compaq. As sales are falling drastically, they can't fire people fast enough. The executives are running the place like a third-world banana republic: Massive bonuses for themselves, the working stiffs in the US are all being fired for low-cost third-world labor offshore. The only engineering innovation that matters any more is financial engineering of the Earnings per share. However, EPS targets can only be achieved by layoffs and share buybacks, due to falling sales, and Wall Street isn't fooled. Businesses and employees are being jettisoned at a rapid pace; a much smaller and weaker company will be the result.

Pros: Flexible work-life balance and the ability to work on innovative and exciting technologies with educated colleagues. Ability to determine project scope.

Cons: Business transformation is happening at a rapid pace and can cause a difficult or painful experience for employees. Future results are in the hands of employees to bring compelling products to the marketplace.