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Your Mileage Will Vary

Technical Solutions Architect
Current Employee
Has worked at IBM for 4 years
January 26, 2016
Washington, District of Columbia
3.0
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEO
Pros

IBM has over 400,000 staff worldwide, so you have great opportunities to work for them wherever you happen to live.

The career paths offered run the full spectrum of degrees and skills needed.

You have the opportunity to work with some of the top people in any technical field, right up there with Apple and Google. Though IBM is enterprise-only, they don't do consumer-level business.

IBM is attempting to re-invent itself currently via CAMSS strategy, which features Watson and the Internet of Things, and it will likely succeed.

Cons

The company's benefits have whittled down over time, but they're still pretty decent, though with several caveats.

For instance, they'll fund your 401k at 6%, but you have to wait a full year, then wait until the end of the next year for it to hit.

They offer 15 days of vacation, but it's use-or-lose annually.

They'll recap your company laptop, but only after 4 years.

Their pay levels are not industry-leading.

Their stock has dropped 35% since I joined a few years ago.

IBM is re-inventing itself currently via CAMSS strategy, so it's enduring transformation pains.

Advice to Management

Value the employee. Many leading companies value their employees as their most valuable asset. IBM has yet to embrace that population-wide. It happens in pockets, but it's not prevalent.

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