Google and Facebook are frequently talked about as being great tech companies to work. But are they the best?
With help from Glassdoor.com, we’ve put together a list of the 25 tech companies whose own employees rate them most highly.
The reviewers account for culture, lifestyle, and what you can learn while working there.
All the reviews and ratings taken into account are from the past 12 months, and only companies with more than 25 reviews were included.
Facebook took the top spot, knocking down last year’s winner, Guidewire, to the number two spot.
The report is based on at least 25 company reviews between 6/26/12-6/25/13 and at least 15 company reviews from 6/26/11-6/25/12. CEO approval ratings based on current CEOs with least 20 reviews between 6/26/12-6/25/13. (Company ratings based on a 5-point scale; 1.0=very dissatisfied, 3.0=OK, 5.0=very satisfied.)
25. Intuit is a well-established, stable company that pays its employees well.
Owen Thomas, Business Insider
Company Rating: 3.8
CEO Approval: Brad Smith, 93%
Bottom Line: Intuit has great compensation and benefits, but the management team needs to get better about communicating with each other and with their employees.
Employee Feedback:
“Stable company. Rewards people with good political skills.”
“Good benefits and pay but very political.”
“Management does not work well with each other, favoritism amongst management and employees, change within the department is not shared with employees for feed back.”
24. Agilent Technologies is a great company with a wide range of products for employees to work on.
Company Rating: 3.8
CEO Approval: Bill Sullivan, 80%
Bottom Line: Measurement equipment and tools company Agilent Technologies is a pretty great place to work at, but layoffs seem bound to happen.
Employee Feedback:
“Fun, but boring after a while.”
“Expect to go through Workforce Management cycles (i.e. layoffs) every two years. Your favorite project will probably get cancelled, possible for political reasons.”
“You will work with the best engineers and scientists in the world. There are still pockets of the HP Way in Agilent but those employees are aging out.”
23. MITRE has great benefits and job security.
Company Rating: 3.8
CEO Approval: Alfred Grasso, 68%
Bottom Line: Mitre, a systems engineering company that manages federally-funded research and development centers, has good job security. It’s also a great place to work.
Employee Feedback:
“A very easy place to work, as hard or as little, as you want.”
“Salaries a bit below average. Limited bonus structure. Management structure allows some employees to remain in positions long after they should be moved to other areas.”
“Department managers don’t communicate with each other – instead they compete against each other and run each department and division like private fiefdoms.”
22. Mentor Graphics is a very family-friendly company with good benefits.
Company Rating: 3.9
CEO Approval: Wally Rhines, 95%
Bottom Line: Mentor Graphics has a friendly work environment. Managers are easily accessible, but career advancement is limited.
Employee Feedback:
“Fairly good benefits and salary working conditions.”
“The whole industry is going nowhere. Upper management more interested in protecting themselves than making the hard choices they’re paid for.”
“Mostly a solid company with good products, good benefits, support for the community.”
21. Citrix Systems treats its employees well and gives them a lot of time off.
Company Rating: 3.9
CEO Approval: Mark B. Templeton, 94%
Bottom Line: Employees love working for Citrix because they love the work they do. There’s a lot room for growth, but the management could be more transparent.
Employee Feedback:
“Always a path to keep your career progressing upward”
“It’s easy to work too hard, even when completely around your schedule…Risk opposite of true.”
“Getting things done can be a bit of a slow process.”
“Only negative point that I can think of is, compensation is average.”
20. Adobe employees learn a lot on the job and are able to work on a bunch of different products.
Company Rating: 3.9
CEO Approval: Shantanu Narayen, 76%
Bottom Line: Adobe employees are mostly happy, but it’s not always easy to climb up the corporate ladder. Another complaint is that the employee cafe isn’t free.
Employee Feedback:
“Friendly environment and good management.”
“Like many large companies, Adobe has tons of resources. It is a well-respected brand and instantly recognizable products. Lots of smart people to help you in almost any area of technology.”
“Again, like most large companies, Adobe has bureaucracy and red tape. HR – I mean Employee Resources – is constantly introducing new programs and processes that seem very divorced from people’s actual needs. Company wide information systems are archaic, slow, and awkward.”
“Adobe probably isn’t the best company to work for if you are an entry-level or young person, looking to climb the corporate ladder and improve your job title. Although there is movement up and around the company, for the most part, people tend to settle into their roles. It will take years to achieve the same level of promotion at another smaller, tech firm.”
19. Apple treats its employees well, but the culture can be competitive.
Company Rating: 3.9
CEO Approval: Tim Cook, 93%
Bottom Line: Apple is a top-notch technology company and an overall great place to work. Sometimes the gag order can be a bit inhibiting for employees, but it’s totally worth it.
Employee Feedback:
“Apple treats its employees like human beings and trains us to treat our customers as such. It’s such a nice relief to know that I can be honest with customers and not feel like I have to manipulate people or be withholding to do my job well. We get to listen to every story on a case by case basis and are empowered that we know what the best decision is for ourselves, the customer, and the company without having someone standing over our shoulders deciding for us. Apple allows me to be very independent and gives me the tools to go wherever I want in the company – it’s awesome. Apple also strives to make everyone feel like one big family, and is an extremely family oriented company.”
“Rigid corporate structure, management challenges, input from engineers is rarely accepted in the design process.”
“Secrecy can be inhibiting but doesn’t generally keep you from doing the work you need to do.”
18. Red Hat has a great culture and lots of opportunities for promotions.
Company Rating: 3.9
CEO Approval: Jim Whitehurst, 97%
Bottom Line: Open source software company offers a lot of room for employees to grow and move up the ladder. The management team really adopts an open culture and advocates for an inclusive, collaborative environment.
Employee Feedback:
“Fast growth provides new openings and positions and a lot of chances to move up fast. There is a lot of training and upper management truly supports you.”
“Rapid growth brings growing pains. Not horrible, but there is still some pain.”
“The open culture at Red Hat is a real thing and is infused in all aspects of the business. Of course that does not mean that ‘every’ decision is made by committee. Red Hat still has a business to run so this of course makes sense. The work Red Hat is doing is relevant, industry changing and innovative. Employees are passionate and willing to challenge one another to produce their best work.”
17. Salesforce has a great company culture, but there are some politics that occasionally get in the way.
Company Rating: 3.9
CEO Approval: Marc Benioff, 95%
Bottom Line: It can be a bit challenging to manage work and your personal life, but Salesforce employees love being surrounded by highly-talented people. The pay is great and the perks are good, too.
Employee Feedback:
“Super smart people. Great clients. Interesting work. All the good perks plus above market pay.”
“Great culture, huge focus on employee and customer success. Forward thinking market leader. Huge growth in previous years has created incredible opportunities. Amazing company events.”
“Like most big companies, there can be some politics although they aren’t as severe as other places I’ve worked. Reporting structures can be thick.”
16. National Instruments provides its employees with plenty of perks and has a laid back atmosphere.
Company Rating: 4.0
CEO Approval: James J. Truchard, 98%
Bottom Line: National Instruments employees love working here because the management team promotes a healthy balance between work and play. They’re surrounded by other intelligent people and the atmosphere is pretty laid back.
Employee Feedback:
“NI has a great culture, focusing on a great work/life balance. Everyone who works here is smart, which makes for a pleasant experience day to day.”
“The pay starts off as average, and then depending on what department you’re in, it doesn’t keep up with the local Austin market. Also depending on the department, career growth opportunities are limited.”
“Very laid back atmosphere, at least in my department. Lots of opportunities to get involved socially with co-workers. Having a cafeteria and a gym is very convenient.”
15. LinkedIn has lost some of its startup vibe, but it’s still a great place to work.
LinkedIn employees celebrate 200 million members at LinkedIn HQ
Company Rating: 4.0
CEO Approval: Jeff Weiner, 93%
Bottom Line: LinkedIn’s goal is to help nurture professional relationships, so it’s no wonder why it’s so great to work there. Employees have a very optimistic in the company’s mission.
Employee Feedback:
“This is a terrific place to work. You are not only working with competent workers, but also with people who are happy and friendly. The business itself has strong growth and potential and I do believe that people here believe in the mission.”
“As with any tech company, the work/life balance could be better. As the company grows more and more each year, we’ve lost some of the ‘small company’ culture of knowing everyone by name.”
“Inspiring senior leadership, a lot of growth opportunities and lateral movement within the company. LinkedIn is really going places and it was great to be a part of that; people work very hard but know they’re contributing to LinkedIn’s mission of connecting professionals.”
14. Rackspace isn’t quite how it used to be, but its engineers are proud to be “Rackers.”
Company Rating: 4.0
CEO Approval: A. Lanham Napier, 94%
Bottom Line: Rackspace employees are proud to be “Rackers.” The company environment encourages its employees to learn and grow professionally. The perks are great, too.
Employee Feedback:
“The people they hire are mostly fantastic, so you will work with some of the funnest, best, and brightest people in the industry.”
“Rackspace is losing what used to make it an awesome place to work and becoming more like a typical medium to large company.”
“Do not regret my decision to become a Racker at all. It’s great to be surrounded by bright and dedicated developers. There is no shortage of resources and support to help us grow as developers.”
13. Akamai is billion-dollar Internet company with a startup mentality.
Company Rating: 4.1
CEO Approval: Tom Leighton, 100%
Bottom Line: Akamai employees love going to work every day because of the challenging, yet rewarding work they do in cloud computing. It still has somewhat of a startup mentality, even though it’s a billion-dollar Internet company.
Employee Feedback:
“Great people, challenging tasks, major impact on the Internet, growing rapidly, very open and flexible environment.”
“The technology is really cool and unique, and the business is in an extremely strong position. There are a lot of smart people, so you learn a lot very quickly. There is a lot to do and hard work is rewarded to some degree. Most of the people people are good to work with as well.”
“Culture can be very political.”
12. Qualcomm pays its employees well, but long hours are nothing out of the ordinary.
Company Rating: 4.1
CEO Approval: Paul E. Jacobs, 96%
Bottom Line: Whether you’re an intern or a full-time employee, you’re going to love working at Qualcomm. Employees come to work every day to solve some of the most pressing issues in the wireless and mobile industries. There’s a lot of work to be done, so engineers may sometimes have 60-hour work weeks. But in the end, Qualcomm pays its employees well and really takes care of them.
Employee Feedback:
“The management is too caught up in internal power struggles to see things clearly. The not-invented-here mentality is clearly present, so anything outside SD will be treated thusly.”
“Good compensation and some very nice people. Good drive and people really appreciate what you do.”
“The company has great benefits and career opportunities. Full time employees wind up with amazing stock packages which are used to “golden-handcuff” you to the company – which is both a positive and a negative – but DEFINITELY compensates you for high-performance. The company also makes great products, has quality IT staff and HR, and is phenomenal in its adoption of new technology.”
11. Intel pays its employees well but the hours are long.
Company Rating: 4.1
CEO Approval: Brian M. Krzanich, 100%*
Bottom Line: Intel is one of the top semiconductor companies in the world. Intel has great perks and benefits, but communication at the company could use some work.
Employee Feedback:
“Intel is stable company known for cutting edge technology. Intel has large pool of highly technical engineers and good place to gain experience and exposure to latest technology products. Good retirement benefits (401k contribution), vacation.”
“Lots of opportunities to expand your horizons if you are O.K. with moving and long hours. Good benefits and perks. Great people to work with and lots of company provided services and assistance for employee and family.”
“Focus on deliverables and results. Open, honest culture. People are encouraged to move around inside the company, every level of the company is encouraged to participate in all discussions. If you are in the room, you are included in the discussion.”
10. Orbitz is a big company so it has monthly happy hours for its employees to mingle.
Glassdoor
Company Rating: 4.1
CEO Approval: Barney Harford, 91%
Bottom Line: Employees love working at Orbitz because they’re constantly learning. The benefits are great and your working hours are pretty flexible.
Employee Feedback:
“Really talented individuals in the group. Great place to compete and grow yourself in your career.”
“Orbitz is a great place to start your career and/or grow your career. Lots of smart people who like to challenge the status quo. Fast paced environment with cutting edge technology. Not a place for people who want to work 9-5.”
“Youthful spirit, smart friendly professional people, sense of humor, great benefits, fun place to work, flexible working hours, cutting edge technologies, challenging assignments, constant learning.”
9. ExactTarget has a great culture, but you have to move fast!
Glassdoor
Company Rating: 4.1
CEO Approval: Scott D. Dorsey, 100%
Bottom Line: ExactTarget prides itself on a thriving, fast-paced work environment. Employees really feel like they’re part of a team that helps each other, and cheers each other on.
Employee Feedback:
“Awesome leadership team and great culture.”
“Fast paced, requires discipline, a “get up and go” attitude and sometimes patience for growing pains. If you’re okay with all those, then it’s the place for you!!”
“ExactTarget has created an incredible organization located within the heart of the midwest. The software, technology platform and future potential for growth is unprecedented. The organization treats its employees with respect and values individual thought contribution.”
8. Responsys offers a lot of growth opportunities as the company continues to expand.
Glassdoor
Company Rating: 4.2
CEO Approval: Dan Springer, 94%
Bottom Line: Responsys employees feel valued from day one. There’s a lot of room for growth, pretty good benefits, and a laid back atmosphere.
Employee Feedback:
“Great clients, big growth opportunity for motivated people, friendly and creative environment, talented staff, education and training benefits, strong vision for company, strong creative and services department”
“Structure and policies aren’t consistent across departments and offices, salary can be competitive but often starts lower than average, management has big vision but roadmap and steps aren’t always clear to larger group, other growing pains of working in a quickly expanding company.”
“Sometimes you have to work long and hard hours, but hey, it’s sales!”
7. Workday employees work long hours, but they love what they do.
Company Rating: 4.2
CEO Approval: Aneel Bhusri, 88%*
Bottom Line: Workday is fast-paced company filled with talented employees. Though, it can be a bit cliquey.
Employee Feedback:
“At Workday, you’ll work with the best and the brightest. Everyday you get to be inspired by someone with whom you work, and you get to try things you’ve never done. Workday is a very flat organization, which means that your voice always matters. Workday is filled with people who are givers rather than takers, as the culture is built on collaboration rather than politics.”
“I’ve never worked as many hours as I work at Workday. The pace can either be invigorating or draining, depending on your personality.”
“Very cliquey, and if you are not Peoplesoft alumni, your career options are limited.”
6. SAS Institute employees love the on-site daycare, gym, and pool.
Glassdoor
Company Rating: 4.3
CEO Approval: Jim Goodnight, 96%
Bottom Line: SAS has a beautiful campus with a college town-like feel. Employees can’t get enough of the free lunches, on-site pool, and other perks. But the environment can feel a little cliquey at times.
Employee Feedback:
“Awesome benefits and great environment to work in sort of a college setting and the grounds always look beautiful.”
“Management treats you like an adult and is honest. Super work life balance. Free Gym and subsidized lunch.”
“Amazing workplace culture, flexible work environment, challenging/stimulating work, customer-focused. The formula works.”
5. Google is still an awesome place to work.
REUTERS/Erin Siegal
Company Rating: 4.3
CEO Approval: Larry Page, 95%
Bottom Line: Google is well-known for all of the great perks it offers its employees. But at a successful tech firm like Google, expectations are high.
Employee Feedback:
“Food, food, food. 15+ cafes on main campus (MTV) alone. Mini-kitchens, snacks, drinks, free breakfast/lunch/dinner, all day, errr’day.”
“Sometimes it’s difficult for people who are used to being the “big fish” at their previous company to get used to the fact that they’re aren’t the leader of the pack anymore.”
“Very high expectations and a commute from the city to the suburbs means work/life balance takes a hit. Self-direction is also highly prized, which is reflected in both the flatter structure of the company and the management style of several direct supervisors I’ve had–perhaps a pro and a con?”
4. Riot Games is THE place to be if you want to work in the gaming industry.
Glassdoor
Company Rating: 4.4
CEO Approval: Brandon Beck, 100%
Bottom Line: Riot Games really values its employees and offers them the opportunity to grow and learn. It has a fully-stocked kitchen, flexible work hours, and a bright workspace.
Employee Feedback:
“Everyone here is immensely passionate about what they do, and if you aren’t learning something every day, you must be in the wrong office. The company takes ridiculously good care of us, and tries every step of the way to make sure we’re engaged culturally, intellectually and socially with the industry and each other. It’s by far the best place I’ve ever worked.”
“High standards means high turnover. Riot’s culture can leave a lot of people feeling down at times. They have a culture of comradely, but also a culture of high standards. As a result, people will get let go that you might have had a personal connection with.”
“If you want to work on truly cutting-edge technology in gaming then this is the place to be, and its only going to get better.”
3. Riverbed Technology gives its employees a lot of flexibility and independence.
Company Rating: 4.4
CEO Approval: Jerry M. Kennelly, 98%
Bottom Line: Riverbed Technology is a public company with more than 2,000 employees, yet it still operates like a nimble startup. But it sounds like promotions and raises are hard to come by.
Employee Feedback:
“You are given great independence to do your own work. Great amount of trust given to you.”
“Good place to have work life balance. Awesome culture. If you want to be a developer on the system side, this could be a good place to start.”
“Great place to work! Nice fun filled atmosphere with the smartest people I have ever known in my life.”
2. Guidewire employees look out for each other
Guidewire
Company Rating: 4.6
CEO Approval: Marcus Ryu, 100%
Bottom Line: Guidewire has a great collaborative work environment where employees help each other out. The 401k could use some work, but stock options are great.
Employee Feedback:
“Great folks that help insure that we all grow and achieve our maximum potential. What a wonderful feeling to ge a Guidewire employee. I have been with the company for over a year now and the experience continues to be rewarding in so many ways.”
“Compensation is good but could be better. 401k benefits need to become better. Health benefits are OK but really should be mote competitive.”
“The work is so interesting that it’s sometimes challenging to pull back into personal time.”
1. Facebook is “out of control.”
Glassdoor
Company Rating: 4.7
CEO Approval: Mark Zuckerberg, 98%
Bottom Line: Facebook has a great spirit and energy to it. The company moves fast, but knowing that billions of people all over the world use your product makes it worth it.
Employee Feedback:
“Great environment, wonderful co-workers. I really enjoy meal time. Constant learning involved, which helps you grow in knowledge as a person and employee.”
“Engineers get the most priority and respect.”
“I never knew a company could move so fast and get so much done while still kind of being out of control. The norm wasn’t to follow a policy or to go by the book, but instead to continually innovate and ask why we do things the way we do. I was constantly challenged by the high caliber of my peers around me. I worry that I may never find such a great work environment again.