Dell is a terrible place to work.
Pros
Dell is a fast paced work environment in an exciting industry. Austin is a great town with very low cost of living.
Cons
The culture at Dell is terrible. The environment is similar to the military in that people are supposed to just do what they are told without question and without thinking. It is a very top down driven company, which stifles creativity, great ideas, and even common sense business decisions. "just do what you're told" In addition, there is no respect for work life balance. Everyone is expected to work long hours and weekends---then head home and work on email. All companies demand long hours from their workers, but one major difference at Dell is that people spend all this time working on valueless activities just because some exec or manager said so. The leadership is terrible with no clear direction and strategy. The company is in a death seizure, where it is flopping from one strategy to the next. The company is controlled from the top and has hired very few good leaders and a work force that only knows how to take orders. This creates only ideas that are "me too", where Dell has become a company that only copies others---now both in process and product. The company is really broken from all sides. The infrastructure (IT, Phone, SW) has been underfunded and neglected. The workforce moral is terrible and the leadership (and pipeline) are completely inept. There is no clear process or standards for anything, which creates tons of bureaucracy and inefficiencies. I'm surprised the company is doing as well as it is. Don't be fooled by the lies and spin---it is a terrible culture and company.