Pros
- Bentley makes legit software that helps solve real business problems. You can feel good about what you sell. - Speaking for sales since that's where my experience is - there's lots of autonomy. You define what you will get done that day and how. So on the flipside there is very little micromanagement - it comes up only occasionally if the team's sales numbers are too low and your manager is getting heat. This comes up maybe 1-2 times a year and lasts about a week or two. The other 50 weeks of the year you are pretty much self-directed. - Job security for sales is good at Bentley. Managers tend to be low pressure. You will not have to worry about getting fired because you had a slow quarter (or 2 quarters, or 3 quarters...). - Good for work-life balance. Bentley is getting increasingly flexible about working from home and they don't tend to obsess over working rigid 8-5 hours. - There are lots of smart, talented, motivated, interesting, good people throughout the organization.
Cons
Bentley is an average to good place to work. It could be a great place to work but there are a few things holding it back and they are mostly self-inflicted. - If there's one thing Bentley is the undisputed industry leader in, it's change. Way too much change, all the time, seemingly for the sake of itself. They reorg business units, change the names, change the work processes, etc., etc. It takes everyone 6 months just to get used to the changes, but by that time senior mgt can't understand why organic revenue growth hasn't increased by 500% already so they blow it up again. The people all stay the same but the organization is in constant re-org mode and it's not only frustrating but it's a hugely inefficient use of resources. Like driving on the highway in 2nd gear. - Bentley is transitioning from a small company to a big company. But the 'old boys' network is still alive and well at Bentley. This is problem for a couple reasons 1. You will find career advancement difficult. Bentley is trying to talk a good game about implementing things like talent management but for now there is no follow through. There is a talent management system but don't be fooled - it's not used. If you want to advance at Bentley you need to ingratiate yourself to someone in the old boys network. This is particularly difficult to do if you don't work in Exton because you simply won't have access to these people. 2. SOME of the old boys (and girls) no longer add value to the organization and in some cases add negative value. They're past their prime, or they're lazy, or they're just not very competent. But they are bulletproof and they know it. It can be demoralizing to work alongside and/or for these people. - For being a private, for-profit company Bentley is extremely bureaucratic. At times it can make the DMV look downright nimble. You could say the tail wags the dog at Bentley. It's admin first, sales second. - Bentley doesn't know how to compensate its salespeople. The overall dollars are OK (understand you are trading top-level comp in exchange for job security and flexibility), but the comp plan changes every single year, it's always ridiculously complicated, and it's administered very poorly. Every single year. Ultimately you will get paid OK, but you will have a few heart attacks and/or temper tantrums throughout the year because the comp plan wasn't communicated correctly or the reporting tool is inaccurate.