Employee Review of IBM - Check out more reviews of working at IBM

I was there twelve years, started as Systems Service Representative and found quickly that the way up was blocked due to 30 year managers trying to preserve their jobs. I knew only one or two who were promoted from SSR into various management positions. The position used to be a foot in the door. I liked my job and finally decided if they wouldn't move me up vertically, they could move me up laterally by inceasing my technical proficiency. That way up also was blocked by 30 year mainframe people trying to preserve their jobs. Anybody who had the misfortune to be promoted from our group into theirs was treated very badly, badmouthed by the precious mainframe people and even had their work sabatoged in order for them to be dismissed.
In 2006 some 500 of us were outsourced to another company to handle Lenovo and desktop printers which was really a demotion due to having been primarly on servers, networking and major accounts for eight years. Very strangely almost all of us who were moved were around age 45 or older.The new company kept refusing to train us on Dell servers where we could be most useful and stringing us along until last year when IBM pulled the contracts and moved them to a cheaper vendor leaving the other company to deal with laying us off and facing any legal challenges (IBM is also good at screwing its vendors and suppliers as well as its employees). I had been looking and had interviewed with another company and two days later was hired as a senior field representative servicing federal accounts at a 50% increase over what IBM ever thought of paying me. I am well treated and respected by my new company. My manager even called me to apoligize when I received a backlog of 20 work orders and offered me a comp day due to overwork. It was all I could do to not laugh at him and tell him this was a typical week at IBM!

My advice to the job seeker would be to stay away from IBM if you are experienced. It has become just another job with just another company and you move on when the promotions and raises stop coming. If you are young and just starting out you possibly could consider them to get training and experience. I will say that my training and customer experience with IBM were second to none. Having IBM on a resume still looks good but after a few years keep your eyes open and move on or you will find yourself grossly overworked and underpaid with little job security. Promotion may come only if you are totally ruthless and cutthroat and also a brownnoser.