Good company that started to lose its way in the last few years
Pros
Good benefits, competitive pay, certain perks that may be attractive to some (swimming pool, modern gyms, special events and fairs). Generally good-natured people at the lower levels. Work that can occasionally be very satisfying in the end product, with a product and technology that is arguably fundamental to modern society.
Cons
Merciless workload, which is not a problem by itself, but in many roles, that hard work resulted in limited intellectual pay-off and recognition. In the 1-2 years leading up to when I left, the company was in a constant state of cost-cutting which meant a lack of people for the work to be done. This of course led to constant stress and long hours in an endless cycle of tape-outs, sampling dates, and process changes. In more than a few former colleagues, all this stress directly impacted health. For most roles, the overall company culture values quantity of work and expertise in a narrow set of skills vs. a diversity of experience and employee development, which makes it extremely difficult to move within the company. Applied to dozens of internal opportunities during my last 6 months when I wanted to try something new, but got only one interview. I consequently started to doubt my own abilities as an engineer until I was hired by an arguably more-prestigious employer, which made me realize maybe it was the Qualcomm (especially QCT/QTI) culture and not me.
