Western Digital Reviews

Pros

Company focus on cost, actions

Cons

No time to think and analyze

Advice to Senior Management

Balance between action and thinking

Pros

WD wants to figure out what the best bet is for the next generation of storage technology, but won't waste money on foolish endeavors.

Management are results oriented and driven.

Cons

Variable pay (bonus) is used as a carrot (or stick) to give employees incentive to work hard. All people seem to worry about is their bonus.

Very few technically-strong people. WDC makes money by doing, not thinking. As technology evolves this, will jeopardize the company viability.

WD employees are extremely risk-averse, since if you try something new or creative and you don't hit a home run, you will get penalized - your bonus may get reduced. This attitude stifles innovation.

Advice to Senior Management

WD has many managers, but very few leaders. People at WD follow management out of fear (fear of reduced bonus that is), not due to their leadership qualities.

Pros

Good company reputation
Challenging work
Support for tier-site travel
Support for training

Cons

Weak, undisciplined management
Blame, punishment management style
Completely undisciplined development process
Completely random product development course changes monthly

Advice to Senior Management

Hire trained , professional managers and product managers and stop cowing them to tell what you want to hear. Or stop pretending that can do anything besides incremental changes to existing products.

Pros

You will learn a lot from both the technical side and the business side. Managers are nice and hours are flexible. They promote furthering your education and offer lot's of options.

Cons

60+ hour weeks. Working from home. No one to support you if you need a vacation so forget about it. Salary/bonuses suck compared to competitors. CEO & the Board are losing support from workforce.

Advice to Senior Management

Hire more American engineers, less H1B's. Competitive salaries. Provide health care (HSA plan is a joke and it shows no respect). Encourage employees to have a career plan that includes WD, otherwise we feel like a mouse on a wheel.

Pros

People are friendly. There are lots of talents to work with, lots of fun and challenging stuffs to deal with every day.

Cons

The pay is in the middle of the industry. The non-tech backgrounded PMs always make some stupid request and decision.

Pros

Smart management, category leader, growing, ethical, fiscally responsible

Cons

Demanding, tough to balance work/family

Pros

Lots of responsibility given to employees
Driven for performance
Leader in its category
Strong engineering driven culture
Very well run company

Cons

Lots of fingerprinting
Long term outlook for business?
Brutally cost conscious
Could take more leadership position from r&d perspective
Rough on family life

Advice to Senior Management

Well run company with good values.
Need to instill more teamwork and more concern for individuals and their families.
Change fingerprinting culture.

Pros

Here work load is not much hight.

Cons

No salary increase since I joined WD.

Advice to Senior Management

Improve benefits.

Pros

Company's total compensation is ok.

Cons

Company culture is very rough.

Advice to Senior Management

Pay more respect to employees.

Pros

There are very nice coworkers.
The company has very good management team, as well as many talented engineers.

Cons

Engineers some times have to work over time or weekends.
The process and inter department interaction have a lot to improve.