Company: IBM
Date: 2008-09-22
Overall rating: 1/5
Employment status: former

Age Discrimination at IBM Research
Pros: Salaries are good.  Work-life balance is very good -- I was able to work at home regularly.  Basically, I was able to take off all the time I needed, but performance expectations were not adjusted accordingly.  There are many smart people at IBM Research, and it's possible to learn a lot.  Seminars on various topics are offered constantly.  I found that the variety of work was very good until the last year or two that I was there.  I was able to transition from desktop programming to Web programming.  Everyone who works at Research in Hawthorne has their own office, which is another plus.
Cons: The performance rating system is seriously broken.  When I did well, I was told that "Your work was good this year" -- nothing more.  Details were forthcoming only when management thought that my performance was inadequate.  I was forced to resign after being given a negative performance review and being given 6 months to improve my performance.  This trial period was a joke, as I worked myself to the bone to meet the goals that were given to me, and I did meet the goals, but was told that I had not met the goals.  I believe that the motive for these actions on the part of management was age discrimination.