IBM

• Good work-life balance. One can work from home to beat the Bangalore traffic issues.

• If you are really that good that higher/middle-level management knows you by your name, then you can expect some good, challenging work. Market-based salary correction is on top of yearly performance-based hikes (only a few people get it, and the rest are not even aware that such off-cycle salary hikes exist in IBM).

• Onsite allowances are far better than Infosys and TCS, etc., but onsites are rare these days.

Employees who stay with IBM for long usually have below par, diminished salaries. Yearly hikes are in very low single digits (%).

If you get stuck in a demanding project with a lot of pressure, then unfortunately you stay stuck for a long time. Be very wise when choosing a project.

There is no power in HR. Your people manager rules the roost.

No real learning in support projects. You can get rusty and useless soon. If you lose your job at such rusty moments, then there is a very tough world out there. With your outdated skills, you can't get a decent job easily unless you study hard like a crazy guy scared for his life.

Nothing I can suggest that would bring about even the smallest bit of a change in IBM. It's a huge company with a hundred thousand employees, which follows the same old work culture that can never change here.