A Square Dell, You Get Back What You Put In!
Pros
Prior to my employment with Dell I had a very misguided misguided opinion of the companies ethics in regards to employees and day to day operations. This is due in part to the size of the corporation, with over 85,000 employees you are going to get some disgruntled individuals who don't mind altering the facts so they may benefit in some way. Their wages are not below nor above average, they are fair maket value at entry level. However their benefits go above and beyond the call of duty and more than make up for what's not received hourly. They provide excellent medical, dental, & vision with an option of PPO or EPO selection. the PPO (in network) selection covers the annual expense of most individuals quite adequately and if you complete a few surveys and enroll yourself in their health awareness programs will not cost you more than $400 annually. However, if you have needs for a specialist it is more advisable to select EPO which requires a $15 co-payment every visit and a $5/prescription co-payment on generic and $30 for non. Those prices at almost identical to the EPO plan with the only difference being that EPO wi ll not cover physicians outside of their network while PPO does with little difference. Annually, PPO only ends up costing me $200 more and unless your budget is stressed to the max and you or anyone in your family is never sick, makes up for the difference quickly. 401k is also provided and the company has a matching ratio of 5% of your annual gross salary. Access to benefits is available to employees 24/7 and if you need financial planning advice you can contact the benefits center or request to be matched with a licensed financial planner. There is also an option to purhase stock quarterly. The most impressive feature of these benefits is that you are eligible for almost all the first day of employment and they become active as soon as you complete your enrollment. All employees are given two weeks paid vacation and a weeks worth of sick days which are available upon arrival. Concerening advancement, M. Dell states it best when he says "dress for the position you want". There are so many career oppurtunities within the company that the door is wide open for those whoi are willing to work and continue to learn during employment. They have a tuition reimburesement program for outside institutions as well as corporate educational oppourtunities. This company is stocked full of exceptionally bright individuals and there is a global presence all around. It amazes me daily how they are able to deal with the idiosyncrasies that come with high IQ's, the tolerance and accepotance is commendable. All in all, they want for, and will help you, to become successful. Every oppurtunity that could possibly be available is but if you fail to capitalize your roll in the company will be short indeed.
Cons
the corporation is in a constant state of change and you never know what job you'll be doing next. If you tend to be a creature of habitwho prefers not to deal with the challenges (stress) accompanied by change, this is not the place for you. It's structured much like the military, without all the "busy work". Word of advice, be sure to comply always and watch your attendance, there are many people who want to be there if you don'tand no one there is a slacker for long; they will, and do, trim fat often.