Company: Apple
Date: 2008-09-20
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current

A great place to work for days on end without a break.
Pros: The company is charged and on a roll.  Products are exciting and the recognition is good for the ego.  If you want to get to the heart of all things Apple, you need to work there.  Few outside experts exist.  The facilities are top notch, the food great (and subsidized) and the general culture makes day-to-day interactions easy.  The benefits package offers the best healthcare (United), a 401k match, stock options plan, health club, and an extensive discount-sharing program with third party vendors.
Cons: Too much work for engineering teams.  Most Directors/VPs want to hire more engineers, but they fail to hire enough QA to support them.  QA is strained to the hilt throughout, especially in Mac Engineering, iPod and iPhone.  Though management promises to do better, projects generally end up demanding weekend after weekend of commitment, or risk being labeled "not a team player."  Most entry-level QA positions pay below the market average, and demand more time.  In the end, Steve Jobs stands up at a comm meeting and offers a round of applause for everyone's families, but no profit sharing.