Company: IBM
Date: 2018-06-27
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Junior

A Paradox of good and bad.  Old Blue vs New Blue.
Pros: - Many co-workers very smart, some of the best I've worked with, though seems the newer hires are more talented than some of the old timers (many of the high performing old timers left)
- High level of professionalism and willingness to help.  Sense of "team".
- Pushing the boundaries of innovation and what's achievable
- Large multinational Research organization to collaborate with
- Frequent communications from Leadership and general understanding of business unit's direction, even despite it's size and breadth
- Great online learning resources for Agile, Project Management, Coding, etc
- Some great processes, strategies
Cons: - Bureaucracy and unnecessary complexity on par with the Federal government, yet trying to move fast and be agile like a startup, creates ALOT of friction when you're handed an aggressive deadline and yet are mired in procedures and compliance documentation.  You're pushed to run the 1,000 yard dash wearing concrete shoes.
- Hard to tell "what is real"; feeling that about half of any tech they espouse is real, half is marketing exaggeration or forward-looking hopes.  Lots of internal and external "marketing" / spin about how great IBM is and how great they are to work for, etc. 
- Feeling that the "corporation" doesn't care about you, nor has long-term commitment to you, even for the top performers.  IBM has a reputation for trying new business units for 3-5 years, and if they aren't profitable, shut them down.  This implied threat always seems to circle in the background when deadlines (often unrealistic) are missed, etc.  Feeling that in a few years you will need to find a new role (many "float" around IBM).  Also I have seen more people fired here (Product/Offering Managers) than any other company I've worked for, by far.  And not timed with layoffs or anything - just direct terminations.
- Salaries good, but all else cheap - below standard travel stipend, very little / no bonus, new computer only every 4-5 years.  STILL use Lotus Notes / Domino-based webmail, which results in calendar errors and missed meetings, etc.
- Note, many of these reviews are from international employees, which may have a very different perspective.  Many services (HR, IT helpdesk, procurement) are based in India and can be difficult to communicate with.
- Very aggressive goals, deadlines etc, apparently to make up for lost time / "navel gazing" in past, and now facing v. fast moving competitors (Amazon, Google, etc)