Reliable Corporate Employment Good and Bad
Pros
Stable employment with a strong player in a stable industry makes working for Siemens very secure. Layoffs are almost unheard of and benefits are reasonable to make make Siemens a comfortable employer for those who highly value security. There is very little turnover and most people stay with the company for decades making for a warm and personable work environment. It is a welcoming and supportive company for parents of young children (if you overlook the lacking maternity/paternity leave policies) and the work allows for a great work-life balance. Individual managers make a huge difference and if an employee works on a good team, of which there are many, the working experience is amazing. Many organizations offer great autonomy, flexibility, and ownership to undertake projects of interest and take on new challenges. While implementing change and innovation is often a challenge, there are many groups with amazing sense of teamwork and facing challenges together and lovely support for coworkers. Many teams feel family like where people genuinely care about each other and enjoy working together. Overall the work offers challenges and is satisfying and gets to be completed with lots of flexibility and lovely coworkers.
Cons
Compensation is very low compared to what one could earn doing like work with other firms in the area. Raises are given as part of the annual review process and are consistently 1-4% increases, even for top rated employees. Due to very small increases, even when changing positions, employee salary though career is very dependent on salary when first hired. For mid-level employees (graduate degree and abt 10 years experience) this creates conditions where 2 individuals can be in the same role, on the same team, achieve the same above average performance ratings, and yet one can make 60% less than the other. Additionally, bureaucracy of large international company often creates frustrations as technology is about 10 years behind and most processes are more complicated than needed. Creating change is possible but it will not happen quickly and there will be a great deal of resistance. Many organizations are resistant to change and many organizations over focus on their individual metrics instead of broader goals.