Laid back environment, no reward for going the extra mile - Software Engineer II Garmin Employee Review

3.0
14 Feb 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Shorts and t-shirts are common in the summer, environment is very casual. The people are generally great to work with. My immediate manager (and many of the other team leads) were fantastic. Health insurance benefit is great for a family, but I was single when I worked there.

Cons

Salaries are far sub-par and there is little in the way of bonuses. Sometimes engineers spend months on end working long hours and never see a bonus while the company rakes in huge profits and gives huge dividends to investors. The promotion system (Engineer I, Engineer II) is a joke, there is no clear definition of how to advance.

Explore other reviews about Garmin

5.0
20 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

People are great, work balance is fair and fulfilling

Cons

Not the flashiest benefits like some tech companies have

3.0
3 Apr 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Good benefits and work life balance. It's a good culture and I've never worked at a place where your immediate peers are this helpful and pleasant to work with, even across teams and offices. If you want to just come in and do just what is required for your job and go home with the knowledge you have a stable job, this is the perfect place to work. I'd only recommend working here if you just want a job, but don't care about a career.

Cons

There is poor career advancement, especially if you aren't male. Leadership does not care about leading people. The RTO has made working here less appealing. The excuse that you can't collaborate unless you are in the same building makes no sense when you work with people in 6 different countries. It is about control and appearances, all due to incredibly poor senior leadership strategies. The pay is also low and so is the quality of the software you work on. Leadership likes to talk quality, but they like fast and cheap. They will not support you in actual software quality nor implement changes to improve it. The same issues happen over and over without improvement.

9
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