Pros
Let’s face it there are a lot of dull and repetitive jobs out there, but that is the last thing you need to worry about at Expedia. Combine the intrigue of travel with the fast pace of e-commerce, then sprinkle in a higher than average number of bright & fun people, and you have the foundation for some pretty amazing work. When you launch a feature at Expedia it can be seen by tens of millions of people every day and make a real impact on their most important purchase of the year. The Expedia culture has changed a lot in the past few years, but they still care more about what you have to say than what you wear, and work life balance is mostly understood (particularly when we get a rare sunny summer day in Seattle and your VP sends out a message reminding everyone not to hold meetings after 3PM). Though it has become easier over the years, Expedia remains selective of whom it hires, and if you can succeed here you are likely well positioned to succeed at any top notch company. From a business perspective Expedia seems very resilient, and has managed both external challenges (like 9/11) and internal distractions (like multiple mergers/spinnoffs, and a revolving door in the ranks of upper management). We have the best inventory on the web, and a great global footprint which we have grown organically (not through acquisition like our competition). If there is any business which can weather a downturn in the travel industry it is likely to be Expedia.
Cons
Don’t expect to have a long term carrier here. Expedia has no concept of employee development for the long term, and senior positions are highly weighted to external candidates. If you have 5 years of experience you are in the top 1% of seniority, and many peoples tenure seems to be shorter than the lifespan of your average fruit fly. Most organizations at Expedia are on a 9-18 month cycle between complete reorganization, and it is the rule not the exception that you will have six different managers in the course of a 2 year gig here. If by some stroke of luck you do get promoted chances are you will be demoted again in a future re-org (so you might want to get out while you have a good title). Even if you don’t get promoted chances are that something will change which makes your carrier horizon very short. Some recent examples include a decision to migrate all code to Java from C++ which drove away the majority of our senior developers, and a significant investment in Offshore (China) resources which brings into question the long term viability of being a developer or tester at Expedia. The age of innovation is over at Expedia. Entrepreneurs who are looking to change the travel industry will find a tough go of it here, as most of our work is versioning of existing product & ideas (though this can still be lots of fun if you know what you are getting into). Projects are dictated from on high by fairly schizophrenic product management teams and in a bizarre attempt to be “Flexible” with resources, every project is constantly prioritized against ever other project, leading to consistent churn and wasted effort on projects which are later de-prioritized and killed.
