Oracle Reviews in San Francisco, CA Area

Pros

Oracle is a solid company with very good finances and a strong business in the enterprise software arena. It provides a secure environment to work, without too much turmoil.

Cons

It is a big company and as such you can expect the usual downsides to working on a large company. It is not as agile as a startup and there are many process that have been put in place over the years to make sure bad things do not happen.

Advice to Senior Management

The current strategy has proven successful in the business world so management must be doing something right. If I were to change anything it would be in improving the perception customers have of the support provided by the company.

Pros

Businesses use Oracle software. There are great skills to carry over if you want to be a consultant. There is a great work / live balance here. If you are an older tech worker, this is the one of the best places to be.

Cons

Bureaucracy. This company is huge. The lawyers run the show. The CEO thinks too much of himself. We need new blood at this company. At the end of the day, Oracle sells enterprise software.

Advice to Senior Management

Have Larry retire.
Give business units more autonomy.
Do something with Sun Microsystems.
Do something with Java instead of suing other companies.
Focus on 3-4 core businesses.

Pros

Opportunities to learn a lot

Cons

Average compensation; Lack of care for the employees.

Advice to Senior Management

Treat the talent with respect

Pros

Stable company
Good Executive Mgmt. at top
Good Corporate decisions

Cons

Non employee centric company. They do not care about employee staying with company for long. They know they will find replacement fast.

Advice to Senior Management

need to be more employee centric

Pros

-Good co-workers
-Stable company
-Great work life balance

Cons

-Poor compensation. Does not keep up with market.
-Company claims to keep up with market compensation trends but lags behind. New employees make more than loyal employees who have worked here for many years.
-Management does not care about losing good talent

Advice to Senior Management

Your most assets go down the elevator every evening. Compensate them fairly if you want them to stick around.

Pros

Working at Oracle was by far the best job and team that I have ever had and I probably never will find better. The problem though is the management refuses to adjust pay regardless of personal drive, training, dedication, performance, or personal financial hardship. In the end, I could not afford to stay and work for 70-80% of my market worth so I had to move on. Miss the job and the team but definitely not the paycheck.

Pluses:

Low Stress
Slow Pace
Great Team
Line managers in HQ were honest, nice, genuine people but their hands were tied and they had little more authority than approving timecards and basic expense reports.
Expensed dinners
Expensed cel phone and home internet.
Home VOIP phone line.
Hourly pay in industry that's mainly salary.
Outstanding health plans

Cons

I can sum it up simply. I loved my job and teammates at Oracle but was forced to leave because, after 6 years, my base pay was bottom 10% of the market per salary.com. With aggressive OT leverage, I got up to 80% of my market worth but was seen as a bad person who was abusing the system for not settling for 60% of my market worth.
Also, I promoted up from within but was trained in a very pigeon-holed manner by design to prevent me from being too marketable on the outside. There was no reason for this though because our team as a whole covered most of the bases that most other companies would expect each individual to know. When I left, I literally had to change career paths within the industry because going for the same job title ended with a never ending trail of closed doors and failed interviews.

Advice to Senior Management

Start respecting your employees and treat people fairly and employees will begin to care again. Set up a system where people stay because they want to, not because they are stuck.

Pros

There is opportunity for growth in the organization if you work hard. New technologies, cutting edge, good pay depending on experience.

Cons

Politics can impede good opportunity, Poor Strategy, sometimes efforts are not recognized by senior management, communication can be improved widespread.

Advice to Senior Management

Employees count on senior management to lead and not to micromanage. First look within management team for opportunities at efficiency.

Pros

Health benefits. Big companies have this. This is one of them.
If you tried, you could get away with a lot. Personal time off, under-performance, etc -- can be flexible. Need to get your life together? Work temporarily while seeking another job? Need the health insurance?
Within the right group, there is good potential. They are not the majority, but they exist. The company has capabilities few others have, and if you seek a group whose purpose is to exploit it, you might be more satisfied. If you seek a generic software job, it's only a decent choice ymmv.

Cons

Gross pay isn't noteworthy. Considering health benefits, it's not bad unless you have no need or will not take advantage of it.
Harder to find smart colleagues that haven't left or compromised their goals already. There are a number of them there, but you have to find them.
Majority tries to talk smart, but never produce, commit, or organize. Too easy to get away with that behavior, which is often rewarded.
Management. In my group, senior developers are doing the real management and are overworked and lack the authority to fulfill the role.

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate with your employees.
Lead by example.
Demonstrate self-control.
Recognize new hires are 'testing the water', and will leave or prioritize their time to job searching if not given the right leadership to become a productive member of the team.

Pros

Experience
Education
Reputation
Process
Collaboration
Work versus Personal Life balance

Cons

Too big
Bureaucratic
Salaries
Lack of effective Communication

Advice to Senior Management

Communicate

Pros

Strong company, people are hardworking

Cons

No job recognition, direction confusing

Advice to Senior Management

Spread the wealth