Qualcomm

The pay is perhaps a notch above the average and, thanks to comfortable market positioning, the benefits and bonuses are also generous.

A comfortable market positioning may and does go to the head. In this case, the products are hashed as fast as possible, and quality suffers. Projects are typically run with impossible schedules, and thus heroism is rewarded, no matter what kind of problems a rushed project may have.

Consequently, what is considered going the extra mile in other companies, even in the industry, comes to be expected, to the detriment of life outside the workplace. Moreover, since pulling out the improbable is rewarded, teamwork suffers, not only among team members but especially across teams.

There's not a clear technical career path, resulting in many engineers finding themselves without an alternative but to become managers to advance their careers, often with poor managerial skills or training.

With 4G taking over the market, Qualcomm's main source of income, CDMA royalties, will shrink and its profitability will decrease. This makes me wonder if personnel will put up with a shrunk carrot of generous benefits and bonuses.

Creating more technical leadership opportunities for career advancement, such as team leaders without managerial roles, would help create a healthier and nimbler work environment.

Finally, giving the last word to lawyers in everything will hurt the capacity to react to market adversities.