Pros
Based on my experience at Siemens. Here are the biggest takeaways: 1) Work-life balance: If you are a married person with kids, this is probably the best place to be at. There is ample flexibility that is provided for female employees before and after pregnancy and for male employees who recently got married or had kids. For non-married people and freshers, based on the experience level, there is genuine scope for learning new technologies and certifications or explore the vast products via their codebase. 2) Perks: Cafeteria food at subsidised rates (approx. 400/month) and a nominal fee for the transportation provided (Bus facility provided for the entire city limits and fee which is less than what you would have to spend if you drove a 4W or a 2W). There are also games on one of the floors of the building with access to gyms as well. 3) Relocation: For people relocating near the office, you can easily find many employees who will be ready to help you (manager or teammate or busmate) in securing a PG. I know it is not that big of a deal, but there are people genuinely wanting to make you feel like home, which is very welcoming for anyone migrating to the office location. 4) Team outings: I know this is not a deal breaker, but people here generally tend to have a lot of fun as they go on team outings every 6 months. There are ample amount of team dinners so you will have a nice time, There is a general positivity and uplifting spirit across the teams which is required during releases and frankly makes you feel like you are heard and cared for.
Cons
Salary: Because of the work-life balance provided, there is often a discrepancy when it comes to hikes. Based on my experience (in my division), the average % is usually single digit with some exceptions. Don't expect higher % (anything above 15% is rare if you are already earning in double digit). There are no performance bonuses or mid year hikes. The hike cycle is also different which is something you need to look at if you are planning on investments elsewhere. Growth: Expect a very slow growth. There aren't many interesting opportunities. The average age is around late 30s and early 40s with very less people eager to explore and learn new technologies. Anything new you want to explore or study, getting the access to it or getting yourself registered to trainings that is out of scope of the project you are in is very frustrating at times. Adoption: Adoption to cutting edge, current industry standard technologies is very slow and hard to push for. There is lack of interest in adopting new technologies because of the complexity of existing product lines that have been there for ages and each feature increasing the complexity of the application it is often very hard to simply jump to another team. Expertise: Everyone expects you to be an expert at something, Senior employees often do not entertain junior employees requests or queries unless their manager gets in touch with the senior employee. Although they are trying to diversify this by adding younger less experienced employees, the transition will still take time.