The article about comparing a developer’s life at Google compared to Microsoft caught my interest. I joined Intel as a software developer straight out of college a little over 2 years ago. I work in the Folsom campus which is in the Sacramento area. Reading about Google’s culture catches my interest, except that I don’t really want to live in the Bay Area again (I graduated high school in Pleasanton).
Intel is probably a lot more like Microsoft for software developers. I work in IT supporting existing web applications and writing new ones for HR. All the things you read about working at Intel, the good things at least, are true. The culture is very A-type personality, with many meetings, small greyish blue cubicles and positive focus on career development. The pay has been good considering bonuses, awards and on-call pay. I made $10k more than my base salary last year and I am on track to do the same this year. We don’t get anything for free such as CPUs, food, banners, posters or t-shirts, although I do have a free t-shirt for community involvement.
Here is my Intel perspective…responses to some of the questions to the Google employee:
1. What is the culture really like? How many hours are people actually working? What are the least amount of hours you can work before you are looked down upon?
Many people work very long hours, but some people take advantage of Intel’s policy on work-life balance. In my experience, Intel does a great job of awarding and promoting based on accomplishments. On the other hand, I am on my 4th manager in 2 years and all 4 have liked me. My managers are the opposite of micro-managers and I rarely see them.
Intel did not make it on the Top 100 Companies to Work For this year, but it has in the past.
3. What are the office arrangements like? Do you have an office or cube space?
See Conan’s visit to Intel Headquarters in Santa Clara. In Folsom, my cubicle is big enough to roll my chair in and out and that’s it. Folsom, Santa Clara and Chandler, Arizona all have the same color cubicle walls, it’s disgusting. The CEO even has a cube, except it’s much larger.
4. What is the management structure like (hierarchy)?
Intel is nowhere near like Google. Intel strives to have about 10 direct reports for each manager. At one point, our CIO John Johnson (we call him JJ) was about 30,000 feet in relation to how many managers he was away from me. Intel has recently gone through some downsizing in order to become a more ‘agile‘ company.
5. Do they actually have plans for career development?
Yes they do. There are all sorts of career development resources, but it’s ultimately up to the employee to talk with his/her manager about it.
Employee/Manager frequent one-on-one meetings are engrained in our culture. Check out How Intel Grooms Its Leaders The succession formula is downright revolutionary: It picks CEOs years in advance, without drama or surprise.
6. Who would you recommend Google Intel to? Is it for the college kid or family type, worker bee or innovator?
Intel is definitely a great company to work for if you love the work you do, as long as you are not in support. My coworkers, recent college graduates from University of Arizona and Virginia Tech, generally like their job and are satisfied with management, but they are moving on to pursue post-graduate degrees.
For a recent college graduate, the experience I have gained working on enterprise level applications and learning from senior developers/architects has been tremendous. Test Driven Development, Agile, and Rails are not part of the culture in my department, but some of us are beginning to change that. If you want to do C++, .NET, Java or SAP then Intel is the right place. If you want to create new and exciting web apps, then you should look at Google or startups.
