Intel

• Some smart people
• Name looks good on resume
• Work/life balance

1. We have a ton of non-technical managers (including 1st level managers). This makes no sense.

The majority of 1st level managers are non-technical. Therefore, they have no idea what it takes to build great products.

Most of them schedule a ton of 1-hour long meetings to get status updates so they can feel important and show 2nd and 3rd level managers that they are bringing value to the team.

1. Lots of low-quality engineers get hired here.

The motto at Intel is "We have a headcount, we must fill them all before we lose them."

The motto at more successful tech companies is "Let's hire smart people and then we'll figure out where to plug them in."

1. The culture here is not that great. It's a very old-school mentality.

There are a ton of people who have been working here for 20+ years (mostly mid-level managers) who don't know anything about the product that their engineers are building. Yet, they are the ones who are making the big decisions.

I have no advice for management. Keep doing what you're doing.

My advice to young talented people: don't come here until you're in your 40s.