Company: Apple
Date: 2013-02-28
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Junior

Being a manager can be like working in a mad house
Pros: Very smart people, 95% of them super dedicated to the company. Amazing products that the world loves. Feels great to work someplace where you can be so proud of what you are creating and under such a recognizable brand. People are pushing technologies not for the latest fad but for rational reasons. 

I loved, loved, loved working with so many smart engineers who knew their stuff, and who demanded the best from others. 

Campus has a great energy, food and other benefits are great.
Cons: There are some sociopathic managers at this company who I observed trying to manipulate others just for the pleasure of cruelty. There are some deeply insecure managers holding grudges and trying to get revenge for perceived slights. Honestly, the politics of this place were overwhelming to me. Maybe only 20% of the managers were what I would call "sick minds", the rest were honest and sincere, but it was too much for me. I can't play those sorts of games and I had to get out. Sometimes you don't even know that you are playing a game until afterwards. 

This is an old company and has a lot of legacy code around. Being innovative often means ignoring glaring problems that have been around for 5 - 10 years. That is kind of painful if you care about quality. 

I saw some happy managers and I concluded in the end that it was luck of the draw. If you got thrown into the lion pit you might escape or might get torn to shreds. Some managers never got thrown into the lion pit and were able to do well, so if you are considering working there you may get lucky.  No one is going to help you out, though. 

Definitely better to be an engineer than a manager at Apple, IMO.