Glassdoor list of employee faves contains a few surprises
By Julie Bort
Of all the companies in the nation, which ones are the best to work for according to their own employees?
That's the question that Glassdoor's annual list of the 50 Best Places to Work answers. (See a list of the top 25, here.)
Interestingly, almost half of the best rated companies (22 of them) were tech companies. So we created this list that ranks only tech companies.
And the outcome was surprising.
For instance, Apple didn't make it into the top 10. There are a few companies on this list we bet you've never heard of. Most of the best tech companies offer enterprise tech, not consumer tech.
Glassdoor filtered through over half a million company reviews submitted by during the past 12 months to come up with its list of 50. It ranked companies based on how employees rated the company's CEO, its business strategy and the positive and negative things they said.
No. 22: Salesforce.com knows how to work hard play hard
Employee rating: 3.8 out of 5
Headquarters: San Francisco
What it does: Salesforce.com offers a cloud computing service that helps companies find and support customers.
What employees say: "Very vibrant culture which is focused on education and growth. Company knows how to work and play hard. Very socially minded with a focus on 'foundation' and employees that are generally very nice and respectful." – Salesforce.com Customer Success Employee (San Francisco, CA)
No. 21: eBay is a great opportunity to learn and grow
Employee rating: 3.8 out of 5
Headquarters: San Jose, CA
What it does: eBay is an online Internet ecommerce site best known for letting consumers sell stuff through online auctions.
What employees say: "Great opportunity for growth and work with great people who are friendly and are willing to help. I am able to learn a lot of new things while on the job. It's a good learning experience for me." – eBay Inc Software Engineer III (Santa Clara, CA)
No. 20: Texas Instruments is a huge company chock full of opportunity
Employee rating: 3.8 out of 5
Headquarters: Dallas
What it does: Texas Instruments is a semiconductor manufacturer.
What employees say: "TI is an older company with great values but still has the expertise to be a great competitive technology company. TI is a huge company and has a foot in many areas, so there are good opportunities." – Texas Instruments Senior Software Engineer (Dallas, TX)
No. 19: NetApp is a fun culture with serious tech
Employee rating: 3.8 out of 5
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, CA
What it does: NetApp offers enterprise computer storage products.
What employees say: "Great co-workers! There are tons of opportunities here. The company makes you feel important and goes out of the way to make you feel comfortable and enjoy coming to work. There are always activities and events to take part in." – NetApp Technical Support Engineer (Wichita, KS)
No. 18: Citrx is a well-managed company full of nice people
Employee rating: 3.8 out of 5
Headquarters: Fort Lauderdale, FL
What it does: Citrix makes enterprise software that allows PCs and devices to remotely access corporate apps and data.
What employees say: "Awesome team dynamics. Great work life balance. Awesome team level management." – Citrix Systems Software Engineer II (Santa Barbara, CA)
No. 17: CareerBuilder.com is a place to find your next job
Employee rating: 3.8 out of 5
Headquarters: Chicago
What it does: CareerBuilder.com is a website for job seekers and recruiters.
What employees say: "Your career at CareerBuilder is what you make of it. There are many opportunities but you have to go get them, nothing will be handed to you. I love that I have worked here for many, many years yet I still continue to learn and grow every day. The people I work with are wonderful for the most part and we all truly care about this organization." – CareerBuilder Employee (Norcross, GA)
No. 16: Apple offers great pay at a highly admired company
Employee rating: 3.8 out of 5
Headquarters: Cupertino, CA
What it does: Apple makes the Macintosh PC, iPad tablet, iPhone smartphone, and other consumer tech devices and software.
What employees say: "Large stable company. Good compensation and stock bonuses (RSUs). Diverse set of challenges and products to work on. Many opportunities for career growth: technically and managerially." – Apple Employee (Cupertino, CA).
No. 15: Intel is full of smart people and great benefits
Employee rating: 3.8 out of 5
Headquarters: Santa Clara, CA
What it does: Intel is a semiconductor manufacturer best known for processors that power PCs and servers.
What employees say: "Two months paid sabbatical every 7 years. Flexible work from home policy. Incredibly smart colleagues. Opportunities for international assignments. Easy to switch roles/divisions. Lots of great free classes for career development." – Intel Senior Financial Analyst (Santa Clara, CA)
No 14: Rackspace is a powerhouse in cloud computing
Employee rating: 3.9 out of 5
Headquarters: San Antonio, Texas
What it does: Rackspace offers cloud computing and web hosting services to enterprises.
What employees say: "Strong sense of culture, laid-back work environment, upward mobility, strong support system from managers. Leadership demonstrates sincere interest in individual employees." – Rackspace Cloud Acquisitions Employee (San Antonio, CA)
No. 13: National Instruments offers interesting work and great work/life balance
Employee rating: 3.9 out of 5
Headquarters: Austin, TX
What it does: National Instruments makes test equipment for building tech products.
What employees say: "Great place to start a career, lots of options and opportunity for growth. It's easy to find roles that stay interesting. Work-life balance is encouraged frequently." – National Instruments Applications Engineer (Austin, TX)
No. 12: Red Hat is changing the software industry with a unique culture
Employee rating: 4 out of 5
Headquarters: Raleigh, NC
What it does: Red Hat offers open source software for enterprises including a popular version of Linux.
What employees say: "Transparent work environment; very talented and hard working workforce; strong culture; employees care about company success; approachable leadership team; minimal politics." – Red Hat Manager (Raleigh, NC)
No. 11: MathWorks is a place for mathaholics who like great perks
Employee rating: 4 out of 5
Headquarters: Natick, MA
What it does: MathWorks makes computational software for engineers and scientists.
What employees say: "Lots of interesting projects, collaboration with other teams, and an opportunity to shine. A culture of respecting and investing in each other. Great work environment with individual offices, new facilities, and many perks." – MathWorks Marketing Manager (Natick, MA)
No. 10: Intuit is a well-run company with great pay
Employee rating: 4.1 out of 5
Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
What it does: Intuit makes financial and tax preparation software for consumers and small businesses.
What employees say: "Customer focused. Innovative. Respect and appreciation for work well done. People are very smart and nice to each other. Salary and bonus are excellent. Work life balance." – Intuit Staff Software Engineer (Mountain View, CA)
No. 9: Riverbed is a big company that feels as friendly as a startup
Employee rating: 4.1 out of 5
Headquarters: San Francisco
What it does: Riverbed makes hardware and software that helps enterprise networks run faster.
What employees say: "A work-life balance that's truly achievable and a workplace with no egos or politics. Our leaders are not only super smart/dynamic but also very down-to-earth, approachable, and fun to be around." – Riverbed Technology Senior Director (San Francisco, CA).
No. 8: Slalom Consulting is part work, part play
Employee rating: 4.1 out of 5
Headquarters: Seattle
What it does: Slalom Consulting is a tech consulting service that helps business in areas like big software projects and cloud computing.
What employees say: "Compelling projects that allow you to showcase and grow your skills. A senior leadership team that makes time and effort to get to know consultants both personally and professionally. A culture that provides a fun environment and leads to people that enjoy spending time together in and out of the office." – Slalom Consulting Consultant (Atlanta, GA)
No 7: Qualcomm is a workplace filled with smart, but humble, people
Employee rating: 4.2 out of 5
Headquarters: San Diego, CA
What it does: Qualcomm is a semiconductor manufacturer best known for its Snapdragon processors that power smartphones and other mobile devices.
What employees say: "Visionary leader, great technology portfolio and offers opportunities to work on many different projects, rewards performance well, wide access to learning and development opportunities, very good IT systems and support, family-oriented company, good benefits, just a great company to work for filled with smart, innovative, nice humble people." – Qualcomm Senior Learning & Development Specialist (San Diego, CA)
No. 6: Google can be a life-changing experience
Employee rating: 4.3 out of 5
Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
What it does: Google operates the world's largest Internet search engine and makes the Android operating system. It makes most of its money from advertising.
What employees say: "Lots of smart people, fantastic perks. I learned more here than I have anywhere else in my professional history. The older teams, such as infrastructure and apps have people that can teach you more in an hour than you learn many places in your entire tenure." – Google Software Engineer (San Francisco, CA)
No. 5: Interactive Intelligence offers lots of challenges and lots of opportunity.
Employee rating: 4.3 out of 5
Headquarters: Indianapolis, IN
What it does: A company that provides software for telephone communications at enterprises and for call centers.
What employees say: "Flexible environment, high-caliber personnel, competitive compensation, strong leadership, company has solid finances and is in high-growth mode. Interesting technology and challenging problems to solve." – Interactive Intelligence Lead Software Engineer (Indianapolis, IN)
No. 4: Guidewire is an all-around nice place to work.
Employee rating: 4.5 out of 5
Headquarters: Foster City, CA
What it does: Guidewire offers software for the property and life insurance industry.
What employees say: "Smart and disciplined coworkers. Products that customers love. Minimal corporate politics. Plentiful social events. Great salary and benefits." – Guidewire Senior Software Engineer (Foster City, CA)
No. 3: Facebook showers employees with perks and support
Employee rating: 4.5 out of 5
Headquarters: Menlo Park, CA
What it does: Facebook is a social network where people can share their thoughts and photos with friends. It makes most of its money through advertising.
What employees say: "Excellent benefits and employee perks - on-site health care, chiropractor, acupuncture, gym and many others I haven't tried out yet. Another huge bonus for me is the support I have here as a woman in the tech community, it's pretty amazing." – Facebook Program Manager (Menlo Park, CA)
No 2: LinkedIn is changing the business world and employees love it
Employee rating: 4.6 out of 5
Headquarters: Mountain View, CA
What it does: LinkedIn is a social network for professionals. It sells premium subscriptions and job recruiting services.
What employees say: "The people here all live and breathe our values and it is truly inspiring to come to work every day. Our work is educating professionals and I hear stories each day about how we have transformed their lives!" – – LinkedIn Enterprise Sales Manager (Chicago, IL).
No. 1: Twitter is setting the new standard for a successful tech company
Employee rating: 4.6 out of 5
Headquarters: San Francisco
What it does: Twitter offers a social media service where people can share their thoughts with the word in 140 characters or less. It generates revenue through advertising.
What employees say: "Twitter is an exceptionally transparent place. Senior team sets that bar very high. Also, we are charting our own course - not copying the playbook set out by other companies." – Twitter Director (San Francisco, CA)