Great Company to Work for...But Needs More Managerial Vision - Software Engineer II Garmin Employee Review

4.0
23 May 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

-Amazing benefits plan. One of the best healthcare plans you can find at any company and generous 401K and Employee Stock Purchase plans. -Pay is at least average for the industry in the area. Anyone who is on here claiming different does not know a lot of employees at other technology firms in the area. And the benefits package cannot be outdone. -Very friendly coworkers. Garmin has an amazing team environment and there are rarely disputes (that I have seen) among employees. Everyone is focused on getting things done. -Great work/life balance. Garmin said from my first day there that they were focused on trying to maintain work/life balance and keep work hours at 40 (rare for a tech firm). I would say in my five years so far there have only been a few short crunch periods where I have felt compelled to work more than the standard 40. If I am working more than 50 in a week even in a crunch time it would be my fault, not the work load. -With the work/life balance also comes a lack of stress. Though the stress can ratchet up to meet deadlines, never has it been anything like friends have experienced elsewhere. I have never dreaded walking into the office in the morning...I know many at other companies who cannot say the same. -Despite size, Garmin has small company feel. Great corporate culture.

Cons

-Hard to advance into management. Garmin keeps a rather small managerial hierarchy so positions only open up or are created once in a while at the first level of management. This means a lot of competition for those positions and often the opening is outside of one's current department, which is not ideal. Also, the qualifications for those who are chosen do not seem to be well defined. -Garmin is under stress due to decline of the PND market. Though management has done a lot to limit the impact, more needs to be done. A greater vision, new markets, etc. is needed.

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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