Siemens

1. Great benefits (100% match on 401k up to 6%)
2. Great work-life balance (able to telecommute 2 days a week)
3. Typical 9-5 IT support job with minor overtime required
4. Annual performance bonus
5. I had a great manager, probably the best one I had in my entire IT career (12+ years), but again, it depends a lot on where you end up.

1. No defined career paths.

2. Everything is based on seniority and who you know. Most people have been here for 10+ years and will not leave unless laid off or retired.

3. No training whatsoever. My last product-specific training class was 4 years ago.

4. Salary increases are limited to 2-3% annual increases. You will never be paid market rate if you already have a low salary. Two of my managers recommended leaving and doing consulting for a couple of years and then coming back at a 15-20% higher salary.

5. Given that Siemens is a manufacturing company, IT is always viewed as an expense by the business community, not someone delivering value to the company.

6. As a result of point 5, there are constant budget cutbacks, even when the overall economy and Siemens are doing well.

Make an effort to keep your best, most talented employees by rewarding them accordingly, rather than sticking to a seniority model. Eventually, the older generation will retire, and there will be no young talent behind them. Most of the younger folks leave to do consulting in their 20s or 30s.