Pros

Cutting edge technology and some high quality source code.

Cons

Most proprietary technology documentation is off limits to Contractors/Vendors without special permission (a pain-in-the-neck to get). Yet, you are still expected to learn and use the technology. This is strange since the source code is in plain view. This documentation blocking slows down development with no gain in secrecy.

With exclusionary rules like this, you are made very aware of being 'less than' a regular employee and the stigma continues from there. In interactions with some, it's scarcely noticeable. With others, it's taken as an opportunity to act a bit superior and snobby.

Advice to Senior Management

Get rid of the red badges and open up the wiki pages. Contractors/Vendors are not subversives.

Pros

Amazing benefits, very qualified people (overqualified actually), relaxed work environment, very hard to get fired, always work in a global environment, lots of cross-team collaboration, lots of social events.

Cons

No career advancement, no insight into how your individual work ties into higher level strategy, lack of professionalism, strategic and organizational changes are executed slowly and ineffectively.

Advice to Senior Management

At the moment Google is a stepping stone for many career builders. Combine the amazing work environment at Google with the possibility to advance in your career. At the moment very qualified people are doing very elementary tasks, especially in sales.

Pros

Management follows the model of the open source community, the attitude of everyone is very open. There are many well-known extras. You're working with people at the top of their game.

Cons

Some people still whine that they don't have enough extras. The workspace is very hectic and noisy. Sometimes things seem to move too fast in every direction.

Advice to Senior Management

Try to work on long-term goals for employees?

Pros

-Lots of cool people
-Lots of perks
-Lots of respect from business schools/grad schools
-Really chill place to work !

Cons

-You work really hard and don't make much in comparison
-Lots of people who graduated from the same school in that office

Advice to Senior Management

-Don't let the culture die
-Preserve your brand
-Make sure that you don't scare your top talent away through instabilty

Pros

- Great perks, from free food from >10 cafes, gym, flexible timings
- Amazing people to work with, some of the smartest people i know
- Its Google!
- Lots of opportunities to learn and increase your skill set

Cons

- Not a startup anymore, starting to feel like a corporate environment
- Compensation not as high as other companies in the locality
- Recognition for your work is sometimes lacking
- Can get lost in the sea of people

Advice to Senior Management

- More feedback on performance to employees, in addition to the review cycles
- Keep all the people involved in setting the direction for new projects

Pros

Big problems, big resources, top-notch co-workers.

Cons

Why invent one wheel when you can have four for five times the price.

Advice to Senior Management

Excellent engineers do not often make excellent mid-level management.

Pros

- Smart people
- Great technology
- Engineering driven
- Huge impact on the world
- Profitable and financially stable
- Perks

Cons

- Base pay average, though bonus is high
- low number shares of stock (plus, stock prices are low compared to peak)
- Getting big and bureaucratic (e.g., launch process long and painful)
- Harder to advance because of stronger peers
- Minimal management attention: non-self-starters can get lost

Advice to Senior Management

- Pay employees more
- Cut the bureaucracy and make things easier

Pros

Code base. Data mining. Datacenters. Employee expertise. Openness. Food. flexibility
Perks Global position

Cons

Mergers and acquisitions not up to par.

Advice to Senior Management

All good, nothing to do here.

Pros

Google is a great place for a computer scientist. There are large problems that need to be solved at enormous scale. Engineers are treated with huge amounts of respect and are listened to in regard to improving productivity and removing redtape. Google has great benefits like free food. I've forgotten how to make my own lunch.

Cons

Unfortunately Google is a big company, so there's always red tape. How much you have to deal with it depends on which group you end up in. It can be hard to see how your project fits into the grand scheme of thing given how big the company is now.

Advice to Senior Management

Why do I have to offer advice to management? Meh, I can do that internally. Google has plenty of avenues to talk to our bosses.

Pros

Was a remote job. All web based. Nice on the resume. Very few requirements other than languages speaking and search knowledge.

Cons

No cons to complain about. The job was simple enough. The pay wasn't high enough to justify any sort of con list. I was a peon!

Advice to Senior Management

Had no management. Was all web based with electronic report cards based on how fast you worked and the quality of work performed.