Intel

• Open and direct communication I love this the most. As long as you are not offensive, people do listen.

• Managers are all supportive Of course, it is not the case for everyone, but my manager and manager's manager are all supportive of your thoughts, ideas, and concerns.

• Perfect work-life balance I seldom work overtime. Employees with kids love here.

• Smart coworkers You'll find the best hardware engineers here.

Office politics

It's everywhere and it controls everything, but it is a common issue among all medium to huge corporations.

Very slow career progression

After grade 6, it takes approximately 5 years to move to the next level, on average.

Some senior staff are rude and arrogant

If they dislike you, or think you'll threaten their position, you will find you are out of the game the next day. A few senior engineers think they are on top of the world with their outdated knowledge or skillset.

Stupid stack-ranking review system

Microsoft has discarded it already. Intel still has it.

Losing its mind in recent years

Intel has been stubborn and insists that the "PC market is not decreasing and it is still strong!" In 2016, senior management finally realized they were wrong, but it was late enough.

Horrible layoff in 2016

The layoff in 2016 was terribly managed. It was endless and there was no way to predict when the next round was coming. A lot, I mean a lot, of bright engineers have left Intel and joined competitors.

Accept the reality and move fast.