Company: Oracle
Date: 2008-06-13
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: former

A nice, safe job if you aren't ambitious
Pros: Oracle is a big, diverse company with lots of areas for career growth, and if you don't like what you are currently assigned to, it's not difficult to find another position which is more suited to you.
The technology is semi-cutting edge, at least if you work in the development areas which are the flavors of the month.
Cons: The worst part of working at Oracle as an engineer or engineering manager is that innovation is regularly frowned upon unless you are one of the "blessed" employees who have the attention of executives. Others innovative (or disruptive) ideas get quashed and the perpetrator is labeled as an irritant. This job is usually accomplished by the crushing bureaucracy which tries to integrate too many disparate technologies for the sake of re-use, but at the same time has not mastered integration and causes maddening delays to product cycles.
Employees aren't valued highly. The benefits at Oracle are mediocre compared to many other giganto-tech companies, and the company is always looking for ways to cut corners.
Many senior managers will stomp on their employees to work their way to the top.