MathWorks reviews

- Review process is tortuous. From January to May, everyone dreads writing their self-review. Mid-level managers have god-awful meetings to mud-wrestle with their peers to rank each member of their team against individuals from other team. It's just false - comparing apples to oranges. And, no one really has adequate knowledge to make these judgments. In reality, senior management identifies which stars to reward and which low-performers to cull out. - Having multiple levels of the stakeholder (profit-sharing) program doesn't pass the sunlight test. - MathWorks has had layoffs. If the economy takes a downturn and you aren't getting high ratings, be prepared to look for a new job.

3 words: meetings, politics, promotions. Meetings: There are way too many. If you're the type of person (like me) who needs hours upon hours to concentrate and focus and think big thoughts in order to contribute well, then you'll find it difficult to do that in this environment without staying after normal working hours to do so. Politics: The way our reviews are organized require consensus building amongst managers. Our fate is determined not just by our direct manager, but by managers who we may have interacted with only a few times during the year. In my view, this breeds territoriality and rather petty bickering. People will go behind your back and above your level....and they will get attention because they're the squeaky wheel. Promotions: I don't believe a single person in my group of ~30 has been promoted within the last 5 years. The economy was given as the reason previously, but that excuse can only last so long. Yes, we are lucky to have jobs. However, the lack of a well-defined career path is I believe fundamentally hypocritical at an organization which is hierarchical yet also holds the core value of "respect and invest." What ends up happening is that you'll be expected to work at a higher level of excellence, but ultimately never attain a higher level in the organization.