Good benefits and location but very weak management and limited growth opportunities
Pros
The benefits package and location if you live in the North Bay Area are the best reasons to work at Autodesk. This is the only software company close to San Francisco north of the Golden Gate Bridge. Vacation time-sabattical, 401-K matching, healthcare benefits, training, ESPP, and generally a lot of decent people working there are other good reasons.
Cons
The downside to working at Autodesk is pretty much known by all who work there. Management is very weak or out of control because they are not held accountable by HR or upper management and C level. Autodesk swings too radically between being overly consensus oriented (70%) on decision making or overly aggressive with out-of-control power hungry managers (20%). Lets' give the remaining 10% to managers that belong elsewhere. Consensus oriented = decisions are never firm if exists at all because no one either is confident enough to make a decision or no one knows whose responsibility it belongs to Agressive managers = those who run their own empire like a dictator and can get away with just about anything It seems you get one or the other when it comes to where you land within Autodesk. There are some good managers at Autodesk but few. The good managers are over looked for the aggressive, or complacent-consensus oriented when it comes time to promotions. Lastly, it seems Autodesk is infatuated like many other companies at hiring from outside instead of providing more opportunities within. If you want to get promoted at Autodesk, the best way is either leave the company and come back (a famous tradition at Autodesk) or move to another division within Autodesk. The grass really is greener on the other side applies here.
