IBM

The work/life balance is usually pretty good. Our prescription plan is excellent.

When you find the right area to work in, you can have a really good time at work every day and be proud of what you have accomplished.

I hear a lot of people from different divisions say that they have great people to work with. People respect you as an IBMer and know that you aren't going to mislead them. There are generations of trust behind you.

Generally speaking, first-line managers are pretty good and are kind of in the same boat as regular employees.

Our performance rating system is a ridiculous leftover from when IBM needed to cut the fat. The fat is all gone, believe me!

In general, this is a hard time for engineers at any company.

At IBM, bonuses and raises are often pretty bad, even when the company does well, even when you get promoted.

When people leave the company, it's rare to backfill their position. In our area, we sometimes don't even backfill with an offshore job.

Across the board, if true pay for performance doesn't start, I'm afraid we'll lose our best and brightest. The old rating system needs to go and be replaced with something that gives us true metrics to be judged by. Budgets for raises and bonuses need to increase. Employees should then be rewarded for two things:

• When the company does well and when they have done their part to make the company succeed.

If both happen, the rewards should be quite handsome. If just one happens, then maybe they could be closer to what they are like now.