Minorities at IBM can get ahead without doing any work. Nearly everyone else is stuck at the bottom.
Pros
The technology and products are way cool. They used to suck in the mid-90's, but now they are cutting edge. Even though most people have to share an office, at least I never had to work in a cubicle. Other people in some of the newer buildings are starting to have to work in cubicles, though. It just depends on where you work within the company.
Cons
I thought I would get ahead at IBM. I thought I would be judged on the work I did. But eing a white man made it nearly impossible to get anywhere. I would see women and minorities do terrible things like not show up for work, work half days when they were getting paid as full time, waste time, lie about status, etc. But when it came time for promotions, appraisals, and rewards, those same people got rewarded very nicely whereas I would work a lot of overtime and had excellent results to show the quality of work I did but never was rewarded by managers. I would hear "you are doing a great job" at appraisal time from my several managers through the years, yet this was never reflected in actual performance ratings or raises. Benefits kept deteriorating every year I was there. IBM used to be the top company for benefits; now it seems like it is in the lower half of companies out there. We used to get free health insurance with very low copays if at all; now there are very high premiums, copays, and deductibles. Since I have a wife and kids, I had to pay a lot more in premiums the last few years I was there. They talk about "work life balance" but then make you work nights and weekends as their projects always slip schedule. I worked my butt off until I finally realized that the politics inside IBM would never allow me to advance. So I quit. I do not regret that decision at all. IBM is a very messed up company internally.
