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If you don't mind big companies, give IBM a try

Software Engineer
Current Employee
Has worked at IBM for less than 1 year
February 14, 2009
Phoenix, Arizona
3.0
RecommendsDoesn't Approve of CEO
Pros

If you're just starting out in your career, it can be a great place to network with a lot of people in your field. You can sample many different job types just by talking to people.

They have great mentors who are really helpful. You have to take the initiative to find a great mentor, though.

They have a lot of internal tools that can be very useful. They can also be a pain to learn since there are so many of them.

Web 2.0 technologies are being adopted by IBM, and there's definitely a lot of cutting-edge stuff you can get involved in if you join the right team.

Good benefits and flexible work hours/location.

Cons

Upper management could care less about the low-level employees.

Layoffs will hit your department at least once every two years, if not more often. Good performance ratings won't save anyone either.

If you don't want to be a small fish in a big pond, then IBM will not be for you—nor will any large company.

There are a lot of politics and processes that keep things from moving along.

The day after laying off thousands of employees, Sam will tell the president of the US that creating new "21st-century jobs" is important and something that IBM is doing.

Advice to Management

Streamline the processes involved with certain things and pay attention to what first-line managers are telling you.

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