What is IBM like to work for?

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Soldato
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26 Jan 2005
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Hey guys,

As the Subject mentions, i was just curious what IBM is like to work for?
I'm currently in the latter stages of their assessments for a graduate job after i finish my degree, the role is that of an IT Specialist... so anyone work for IBM? and would care to share their experiences? Good or bad obviously :D
 
Blokey57 said:
Hey guys,

As the Subject mentions, i was just curious what IBM is like to work for?
I'm currently in the latter stages of their assessments for a graduate job after i finish my degree, the role is that of an IT Specialist... so anyone work for IBM? and would care to share their experiences? Good or bad obviously :D
Click to expand...
As a company it's changed beyond all recognition over the 10 years I've been here, some of the changes are good (the company survived) and some are not so good. The "High Performance Culture" ethic that we have is fine if you get a decent assignment and you know what you're doing but if you're in a rut it means you get a naff annual rating and litle chance of a pay rise.

You're unlikely to get a desk to call your own unless you're very lucky and most of the work will be on a client site which could be anywhere in the country - I spent most of 2005 at Boots in Nottingham 4 days a week. You get a reasonable choice of what to do though because it's really up to you to find your next assignment as one comes to an end.

Having said that it's not all bad, I've had about 18 weeks in various parts of the US on the company although I haven't been out in 4 years or so. The benefits aren't bad either, the final salary pension is long gone (I missed it by a year or so) but there's a salary drawdown scheme which allows you to pay for a number of benefits without incurring tax or NI at source.
 
My ex's mum works for them. From what she said they seem like a good employer. They paid her to live away from home, pay her travel expences, seem understanding when you require leave etc. I never really heard her compain.
I'd also imagine you will get good IT training and it will look good on your CV :)
 
I'm in work now so can't really say anything other than it isn't the best place to work in the world, but it pays the bills. Not much help I know :P
 
my dad is a software engineer for IBM (due to them buying his company the other day) he seems to think they are ok just gave him a massive bonus too.
 
I work for a large Department store in the UK, we used to use them for all our servers, PC's, Laptops, etc.

Dell now have the contract, because i was told IBM were too expensive and couldn't fulfill orders, etc.
 
My brother was contracted to them for a while. One day he was trying to get a coke out of a vending machine at some of their offices, two MD's were behind him. The machine was playing up so my brother gave it a kick and said 'Typical IBM, doesn't work and costs twice as much'

Don't think he lasted too long :)
 
Chaos said:
I hated the whole IBM culture, you dont get the rewards for all the work you put in.
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My sister's husband said exactly the same thing about IBM!

He didn't get a pay rise one year so that was him he now works for a samll compnay based in the city and hes more then happy and a lot better off with money and working hours!! :o
 
Psycrow said:
My ex's mum works for them. From what she said they seem like a good employer. They paid her to live away from home, pay her travel expences, seem understanding when you require leave etc. I never really heard her compain.
I'd also imagine you will get good IT training and it will look good on your CV :)
Click to expand...

To be honest, she never said much because she didn't like you :p.

There are very few jobs with IBM in Scotland now, and they have a lot of assigments on customer sites rather than staying in one place all the time. My mum has been working away from home for about 6 years now, and it takes its toll. However, if you were to stay in Portsmouth you shouldn't have any problems with that, as there's a huge office down there (possibly the head UK office actually).

It pays to work away from home, and my mum has said many times that in the 6 months she had a job in Edinburgh, she was worse off than when she was in Leeds, London, Hertfordshire or Toronto. Over the summer, her project paid for each member of the team to have someone fly out and stay with them in Toronto. For the last year, she has been living between Sheraton and Hilton hotels, paid by the company. There was a girl on her last project (between London and Toronto) who was 23 and just out of uni, so there are all sorts of opportunities available to graduates.

The major downside I've heard from my mum has been the travel and not being able to get a job back home. I doubt that would be an issue for you, so I'd definately recommend going for it.
 
nero120 said:
What's an IT specialist? Isn't that a bit of an oxymoron?
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It's IBM's job title for the bulk of the IT jobs, there are various levels within the profession from graduates through to the senior technical guys (team leads, technical consultants etc). Basically within the Application Services organisation your either an IT Specialist, an IT Architect or a Project Manager.
 
Judging by location I'm guessing your going to be at the basingstoke site?

IBM are an ok company to work for, but as others have said, dont expect to get rewards for any hard work you put in. Having piloted a system for replacing frequently replaced parts, that has saved weeks on repair calls, I was given another responsibility for thanks :(

I worked for the DSIS (Distributed Systems Infrastructure Support) team in Warwick, as a rather genric 'IT Specialist' :p
 
Some guy I play golf with is a Sales Manager with them. He seems to be doing pretty good. Haven't said a bad word about them yet
 
IBM is a competitor for the company I'll be working for. IBM have the biggest market share in consultancy but doesn't mean its the best company to work for. Am sure the work you'll get to do will be very interesting.
 
Depends more on which contract and where you work rather than what you do for them. It's a very mixed bag. I knew people who were on very low wages with no rise for years who worked hard and were good at their job despite a lack of support. Then there were those who did very well with a minimum of effort, expertise and interest.

I was with them for just under 5 years.
 
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