Pros
Remote work is nice due to the flexible schedule, comfort of working from home, and leaves plenty of time to apply for other jobs. Saved a lot of money on gas and car payments. Extensive travel helps keep those reward points high. IBM still looks great on the resume because most other employers don't know what a wreck it is. The company is so large that depending on the role, comp plan, territory, and manager you may actually not hate your job.
Cons
Where to begin? Let's start with the top 5... 1. Management's "strategy" can best be described as: Let's constantly implement broad, sweeping changes with little to no warning, put our employees in impossible situations, brow beat them when they fall short, then lay everyone off 3 months later. Oh, and then wonder why moral is at rock bottom. 2. Culture... there is none. Unless you consider infighting, back stabbing, and a general "meh" attitude toward colleagues a culture. 3. Get ready for an earful of dishonesty and broken promises from your managers. Managers are constantly trying to oversell employees on a job, project, move, etc. when the reality is they need someone to fill a garbage job that no one wants. Once you're in the role, they'll do nothing to help you. And every time you go to them with a problem, they'll put it back on you. Really atrocious management all around. 4. Semi-annual changes to comp plans and quotas to put full attainment just out of reach. Did you do well last quarter? Guess what, your quota is going through the roof so save that last commission check because you won't be getting another one any time soon. Did your whole team do well last quarter? Expect the department comp plan to be adjusted... IBM is always looking for ways to pay you less while relying on the complacence of their employees to keep them around. 5. Mediocrity, laziness and bureaucracy abound. I touched on this in #3 but it's really amazing how many people here will not lift a finger to help you, actively oppose outside-the-box thinking, and are obviously here just to collect a paycheck... if it's not in their job description, it's not their problem. At some point you'll realize that attitude begins to drain you of your motivation and work ethic, and you'll either make a choice to fight it or accept a mediocre performance from yourself. Don't expect this to be the company where you do your best work - use IBM to build your resume, put in a couple years, then move on to bigger and better things. As for jumping through hoops, get ready for a lot it; nothing gets done here quickly and without approvals, modifications, and pointless review by a dozen other managers and analysts.
