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Not a great company to work for, but good enough for work-life balance

Senior Engineer
Former Employee
Worked at Sony for less than 1 year
July 31, 2008
San Jose, California
2.0
Doesn't RecommendNo CEO Opinion
Pros

Work-life balance is quite good. The management gives some value to your personal life. Also, the pressure to deliver is less. But as far as a Japanese company in the US goes, this might be the best company. The benefits are long-term oriented. It used to be that jobs at Sony were stable enough for the long-term oriented benefits, but no longer is the case. The jobs in the US are mostly research-oriented. So, it is easy to find highly skilled people here. Stock options used to be selectively given, but this might have been stopped as of now. Knowing Japanese is an advantage here.

Cons

Quite a lot. The culture is very different. Everything is very secretive. The employees are not communicated with from the top. There is a very deep hierarchy, and it is difficult for people who are accustomed to the US style of working to adjust. Not knowing Japanese is a big disadvantage, as people talk in Japanese during meetings. There is very limited growth opportunity. Management does not have the guts to speak out or do something radical. Compensation is quite poor compared to the industry. They have asked me not to share salary details of my future company with current co-workers to stop them from leaving.

Advice to Management

Open up to the employees.

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