Company: IBM
Date: 2008-09-02
Overall rating: 2/5
Employment status: current

IBM has many divisions; some are not very good places to work.
Pros: Insurance and other benefits are good. IBM matches 401k of the first few % of salary. 
I have met long-time IBM employees who were very happy with the company; however, I have yet to meet anyone in IBM's Global Services division (where I work) who was very satisfied with their job.
Cons: Poor communication between different parts of IBM; while the customer thinks that they are working with one IBM, in reality it is as though each part was competing with each other. 
In IBM's Global Services division, there is no training budget! I have been in computer technology for over 30 years; I have never before worked for a company that refused to provide training. 
We are actually told to "not give the customer more than they expect"! While I can see this as a way to minimize labor expenses, it goes against everything I've ever been trained to do for customers.
Many people in the Global Services division just got a 15% pay cut, even though we are making a profit and IBM as a whole is doing well.
IBM is a huge company; there is a tremendous amount of red tape, and innovation is not a concept. Individual recognition is not given. For example, I came up with a need the customer had and worked with the customer and IBM to add a service to the contract; it is extra work for me, but brings in nearly the equivalent of my salary each year. I never heard "thank you" from anyone at IBM, and my salary was cut 15% like everyone else. I see other services that I could offer that would bring in additional revenue, but there is no reward, only extra work, so I would be foolish to put in the effort to set these up.