Broadcom Reviews in Irvine, CA

Pros

Get to do everything and very knowledgeable people in the company.

Cons

Work life balance can be at risk for extended period of time..
HR policies with unlimited PTO is killer.

Pros

Looks good on resume.
Perks: free beverages, on-site cafeteria, gyms, basketball court, volleyball courts

Cons

This isn't one of the hardest-working companies I've ever come across. I believe that the same amount of work could be done with a lot less employees. One out of three employees is "dead weight" to me... and that is being generous!

Interns are dispensable; Broadcom lets a lot of interns go once they are finished with school.

Advice to Senior Management

I know you want to be nice and employ as many people as possible, but by doing that you are costing the company a lot of money. I would not be happy about that if I were a stockholder of Brcm.

Downsize.

Pros

Great benefits and a good standing in the community.

Cons

Not enough comp time after difficult projects.

Advice to Senior Management

Please encourage more personal time away from office.

Pros

Great peers

Decent Salary

Your time at Broadcom will look great on a resume.

Cons

Quite simply, Broadcom isn't concerned with Corporate Services, Facilities, or Global Real Estate employees. They care about the opinions of other departments, who possess a much greater percentage of the overall corporate headcount. But the smaller percentage of employees and contractors working in Corporate Services are simply seen as replaceable and their viewpoints are frequently met with denial.

Contractors are treated as "below" employees. They are continually given the impression that if they just hang in there, they might get hired on as an employee. As a company, HR doesn’t do exit interviews for contractors, so HR has no clue why they leave. Therefore, a savvy Manager or Director will fill his department with contractor staff and HR doesn’t mind because they are afraid to address Manager and Director deficiencies.

There is far too much Corporate Politics that exists. For a fortune 500 Company, employees should be able to voice their discontent about an issue and find a solution within HR without fear of being "blackballed". Protections exist as published policy, but are not practiced.

Those same great peers you work with are all desperately searching for any opportunity that comes even close to their current salary, then bailing ship.

You are paid just slightly above an "industry average" for your qualifications, which makes it difficult to locate another company to work for.

If my husband wasn’t out of work, I would immediately quit without even thinking about it.

Advice to Senior Management

HR needs to objectively and sincerely investigate why over the last six months so many employees (and contractors) have left Corporate Services, in addition to the Facilities, and Global Real Estate departments. It's not because they are paid is too low.

Pros

Broadcom historically was a place where you were rewarded for hard work. There was a lot of opportunities to learn and grow. Equity made up a large portion of compensation.

Cons

Unfortunately, a lot has changed in the past 5 years. All the people that made Broadcom great has been forced out. As the organization got bigger, politics became more prevalent and new hires were mostly talkers instead of doers. Internal promotions to middle positions have become more rare. RSU and bonuses are sharply diminished for most employees but senior executives are richly (unjustified) rewarded... check out latest proxy statement vs. financial/stock performance.

Pros

There is a lot of work to do all the time. The work can be challenging, but it can also be repetitive and tedious at times. The sky is the limit and it's up to you to reach your full potential.

Cons

People are too focused on their own work to help you. If you are new, you are expected to already know a lot already which is why they prefer Master's students.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire your interns as full-time employees. We already know the system but hiring externally tells people that you have no loyalty to any of your employees.

Pros

location, perks, gym, office (not cubicle)

Cons

all depends on the manager you report to. You may get bad managers who don't know how to manage.

Advice to Senior Management

A senior engineer who's good at technical stuff does not mean he/she can be a good manager. Should have more qualification as manager (interpersonal, mgmt skills, etc).
Hiring doesn't mean hire people with resume from other competitors and big corporations. It doesn't mean they are guaranteed to be good. Many turned out to be an extra fat, not muscle.
Many bad calls from director levels, especially the ones with no hands-on technical background.

Pros

Cutting edge technology. Growing and stable company.

Cons

Company growing too fast and it is now a big company. Promotions and bonus have considerably come down.

Pros

Comfort working environment.
The IT, CAD, and HR are very helpful and supportive.
Nice colleagues.

Cons

Product schedules are usually tight, so you do not have much time to think.
Not many opportunities of technical growth.

Advice to Senior Management

My boss is very supportive. Help me get resources to get the jobs done.
The project leader deeply involves in each project and discussion with him/she is usually useful.

Pros

working with smart people who share information and experience freely
opportunity for advancement within many BU within the company
state of art project

Cons

Irvine is quite and expensive city
research environment is not as good as Rampus or Intel
after being for awhile you might get bored

Advice to Senior Management

more parties are needed to socialize and get to know your peers.
provide housing for intern who is working for short period.