Texas Instruments

Great people to work with. Very friendly people throughout the company. Coworkers made an effort to make new employees feel welcome. Even people who've worked at TI for decades would invite me to lunch off campus.

4% 401(k) match immediately, even for interns. Start accumulating time bank (PTO) immediately, even as an intern. There is no separate sick time, so don't get sick if you plan on taking vacation days. Employee stock purchase plan: pay 15% below fair market value for TI stock (most interns will not be able to use this - see cons for details). Consistently good returns for stakeholders.

Employees can gain lots of technical experience early on. The 3-year rotation program can provide diverse experience early in your career. New employees have some input for their next rotation, but may get stuck in a role that they are not happy with for a year. It seems like employees have lots of opportunities to change the course of their career without changing companies.

Flexible hours. Employees can figure out a schedule that works well for them as long as they get to at least 40 hours per week and are there when their team needs them. Employees can come in early and leave early, or come in late and stay late, depending on what works for them and their team. Lunch break time/duration is flexible as well.

Navigating Ambiguity

You will hear this term a lot at TI, starting from day one. It basically means you will have to work without clear expectations from leadership, but you will have to deliver impressive results regardless. You may find yourself filling several roles while getting paid for one. Lots of employees seem to struggle with this for at least the first few years.

Slow to adopt new technologies

Based on meetings with various technical leaders, TI seems to be very conservative with investing in new technologies. They would rather play it safe and stick with what has been working than risk investing in new technologies, so they will be behind when it comes to technical advancements.

Work/life balance

It seems pretty difficult to achieve a healthy work/life balance at TI and still succeed in the fast-paced work environment. Full-time employees will often put in the standard work hours in the office and then resume working once they get home. VPN access will allow you to keep working on your own time. This may include weekly meetings at 10 p.m. and/or 7 a.m.

Employees who wish to do well and climb TI's "Tech Ladder" will likely have to put in a lot of overtime every week.

Interns get paid for 40 hours per week but may end up frequently working (unpaid) overtime.

Employee stock purchase plan (ESPP)

The ESPP is one of the benefits listed in the offer letter for interns. Interns can sign up for this and contribute up to 10% of each paycheck towards TI stock that will be purchased at the end of the quarter. However, since interns leave before the end of the ESPP contribution period, the amount they contributed will be returned in their final paycheck. TI does not inform them that this will happen if they leave before the end of the contribution period.

Payment offers for interns and new grads are non-negotiable. You can either accept the offer or they'll find someone else who will.

Location

TI isn't in a great area. The Dallas area can be pretty sketchy, but there is a lot to do there and plenty of other tech companies in the area.