Pros

At IBM, you have the wealth of resources available at your fingertips that only comes with working for a multinational corporation. I had a wonderful team of coworkers and was continually being challenged with interesting projects that continually developed my skills.

Cons

Like many corporations, shareholders are the top priority at IBM, explaining why thousands of employees were laid off in late 2008/early 2009, despite IBM having a record year in 2008. I was lucky to have been spared (I left IBM to pursue grad studies), but there were many senior positions cut in the layoffs -- people that had been working for IBM for most of their careers, outed to save a few dollars. It makes you wonder if the same could happen to you if you stayed in the company for many years.

Advice to Senior Management

Work extremely hard and constantly push yourself to do better. Someone is always watching, and there are so many opportunities to advance in IBM that top talent will have no trouble at all rising through the ranks.