Safe Place to Start a Career
Pros
The AE program connected me with a lot of intelligent and motivated people right out of college whom I remain friends with years later. It's focused on stable employment and management does care about their employees. I had opportunities here that I would not have been given in other stable employers. Work/life balance is amazing. There are no questions asked about being able to take time to take care of your kids or deal with life issues. Management is really supportive of people's needs and will bend over backwards in this area.
Cons
Being stable also means that it can be stagnant at times, and it seems like feedback takes a while to be received. I think there are some issues of morale in some of the teams under more pressure that go unaddressed. Management is often well intentioned, but their hands are tied to make real change in a lot of cases. Upper management often has a say-do gap where they will say they will make positive changes, but things stay the way they are. These messages sometimes don't even make it down to front line managers to effectively communicate, so they are left as confused as everyone else. Pay is ok, but the ceiling is really low if you are in software. In Austin, you can go across the street and make 30% more with same or better benefits.
