Company: Apple
Date: 2015-07-10
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Junior

It Was Good... For Retail!
Pros: Apple was demanding, upbeat, fun, and a job that was just as hard to earn as it was desirable to prospective employees. Every day was a busy day and co-workers are generally more than up to par, though unusually young compared to the rest of the workforce. Great lounge, free Apple TV viewings on lunch breaks, good insurance, and supportive work environment. 

Having worked Apple also looks pretty damn good on a resume too. People eat that Sugar Honey Iced Tea up.
Cons: Apple is great for retail.... but at the end of the day it is still only a retail job. Corporate retail, at that. At interviewing I was told I would quickly fall into full-time status upon starting work but that just wasn't so. There were at least three other part-time employees in my department that had been there 6+ months who were "working their way" into full-time status. 

In one of the new specialist orientation videos we were advised by the new CEO, Tim Cook, to literally "keep your head down, work hard, and don't ask too many question." That set a bad precedent with me from the beginning. Lets be real, Tim: that statement doesn't reek of Apple's purported ideals of curiosity and original creativity. 

Management was extremely distant, vague, and generally unhelpful. I'm not sure what exactly it is they do to get paid so well but good for them. Lets just say there is a definite lack of support and communication between management and specialists. 

No employee discounts on merchandise, lacking in detailed/comprehensive education on products, and makes employees sign a confidentiality and intellectual property ownership/"Apple owns your original work" for 5+ years agreement upon accepting a job.