Garmin Reviews

I have been working at Garmin full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Very technical, hands on work. Good benefits, great products. Plenty of creative freedom. Fun place to work

Cons – Poor bonus. Long work hours often..

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Garmin full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Healthy environment, great people, great benifits and overall good place to start or continue a career. Leadership is very goal oriented and wil help you grow into any position.

Cons – very limited lateram movement with the company for non-engineering personnel.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Garmin full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – -Amazing benefits plan. One of the best healthcare plans you can find at any company and generous 401K and Employee Stock Purchase plans.
-Pay is at least average for the industry in the area. Anyone who is on here claiming different does not know a lot of employees at other technology firms in the area. And the benefits package cannot be outdone.
-Very friendly coworkers. Garmin has an amazing team environment and there are rarely disputes (that I have seen) among employees. Everyone is focused on getting things done.
-Great work/life balance. Garmin said from my first day there that they were focused on trying to maintain work/life balance and keep work hours at 40 (rare for a tech firm). I would say in my five years so far there have only been a few short crunch periods where I have felt compelled to work more than the standard 40. If I am working more than 50 in a week even in a crunch time it would be my fault, not the work load.
-With the work/life balance also comes a lack of stress. Though the stress can ratchet up to meet deadlines, never has it been anything like friends have experienced elsewhere. I have never dreaded walking into the office in the morning...I know many at other companies who cannot say the same.
-Despite size, Garmin has small company feel. Great corporate culture.

Cons – -Hard to advance into management. Garmin keeps a rather small managerial hierarchy so positions only open up or are created once in a while at the first level of management. This means a lot of competition for those positions and often the opening is outside of one's current department, which is not ideal. Also, the qualifications for those who are chosen do not seem to be well defined.
-Garmin is under stress due to decline of the PND market. Though management has done a lot to limit the impact, more needs to be done. A greater vision, new markets, etc. is needed.

Advice to Senior Management – Garmin with its stringent hiring practices has created one of the most intelligent engineering staffs of any technology company in the country. Your employees can do just about anything if you will allow them to do so and are willing to take risks in new markets. We are an amazing company capable of bringing back the glory-days, we just need a better vision from you of how to get there.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Garmin full-time

Pros – There are some great associates at Garmin. Unfortunately, many of them leave quickly.

Cons – The executive leadership team did a good job of getting Garmin to where it was in 2008. Since 2008, revenues and sales have been declining. They have no clue or plan for a way reverse the downward trend. There are no bonuses or stock for managers and no incentive to perform well. Aviation production is months behind schedule because of management's unwillingness to spend money on necessary production equipment. That's bad because that is supposed to be Garmin's strength.

Advice to Senior Management – Reward performance. Hire an outside marketing firm and spend some money on advertising. Co-op advertising through the Garmin dealer network isn't cutting it.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Garmin full-time for more than 8 years

Pros – Close to work, low expectations

Cons – Compensation, culture, No learning opportunities.

Advice to Senior Management – Think forward. dont just rehash the past.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I have been working at Garmin

Pros – Great benefits
Laid back dress code
Cafeteria on site

Cons – Low pay
Minimal advancement available
Like to switch job titles on you so you aren't able to get a better raise

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

I worked at Garmin full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Very vibrant and goal driven organization.
Incredible summer picnics, winter dinners, and lots of social events.
The type of work changed all the time and was very rewarding.
Parking garage (car doesn't get sun fade or snow).
Lots of "new hire" kids out of college kept the culture young and fun.

Cons – Frankly, it's hard to stand out with so many extremely smart people. I know that sounds self-serving but I consider myself a pretty ambitious and dedicated worker, and I would rate myself an average performer on my team at Garmin. This combined with low turnover also hinders advancement.
The pay was under industry but the health and other benefits made up for it.

Advice to Senior Management – Your job is to find new ways to leverage the incredible work force you've built--keep doing it.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Garmin full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Garmin has a great culture for engineers. Fun products to work on, relaxed environment with better then average pay and outstanding benefits. The cafeteria is good, there is a fitness room with ping pong tables, and the management has taken an interest in keeping people happy and pleased with their jobs.

Cons – The last few years (and probably the next few) show declining revenues because of PND sales. This has been tough. But other markets are starting to pick up, and Garmin is still very profitable.

Advice to Senior Management – Keep communicating. People need to know where we're headed from here.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Garmin full-time for less than a year

Pros – Very relaxed atmosphere, people are nice, managers are too. Very casual dress code.

Cons – Not sure if there are many advancement opportunities

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

I have been working at Garmin full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – They offer good pay for the field. Their benefits are very affordable. Great work/life balance. Opportunities for advancement are available if willing to put forth the effort.

Cons – I can't really think of a lot of cons. If you are willing to put in the work that is expected of you, opportunities are made available to you.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend – I'm optimistic about the outlook for this company