Everything else. Does no one else find it odd that all of the reviews written by supposed software developers (the majority of which are non-native English speakers at BBG) tend to be written in perfect English, using American slang, and are all written using the same tone of voice? Does anyone else notice that if there are bad reviews posted, suddenly all the new good reviews, say the exact opposite of what the bad reviews said word for word? Odd. I'm sure we will get a slate of reviews that attempt to sound non-native now, courtesy of HR.
Anyhow. Where to begin.
Stanley Young: He was hired to be the next chief executive of technology at BBG back in 2013. He quit in less than one year. Why would that be? Possibly because top execs at BBG refuse to believe that the terminal is going down and may not even be relevant in less than a decade? We've got machine learning now, people. We've got start ups that give away the very same product as BBG charges 20K per terminal a year for. We've got predicative analytics. And guess what. These start ups have a way better user interface, are easier to use, and more modern. The only reason people pay for BBG is for the IM feature. But guess what, there are competitors building better ones.
Incompetence abounds: I have had several incompetent leaders. Rather than replace them, or demote them, they are usually assigned a baby sitter who then makes sure they do their job correctly. Because no one at BBG can ever admit they made a mistake. Sometimes I feel the leads there would rather knowingly make a mistake than admit they are wrong. Odd for a company that has based its entire reputation on quality and preciseness of data to their customers.
The spying: not only did BBG get caught for spying on their customers, it is known that they track everything their employees do. I am sure they can write a report on how much time I spend in the bathroom, if they wanted to. Nobody is ever told what they do with these metrics, though. And you have no idea what you are being measured on, or by whom, or even why. It totally makes you paranoid. Who is watching me and why? It's like the NSA. They should read you your Miranda rights before working there because anything you say will be used against you.
Evaluation: Since everything about you is evaluated, you will look forward to your annual review where every tiny, petty little detail will be brought up and used as ammunition against giving you a raise. Were you late that one day? Look for it in your review! Did you dare question someone's incorrect opinion? You will see it right there in your review!
Workload: Team leads don't lead or work. They just spy on you and tattle to the boss. That's it.
Advancement: I have never seen any member of my team change roles, although they say you can after 18 months.
