Pros
Peers. Never have I found a more competent group of individual contributors than at VMware. This is especially true of old-timers. Management doesn't get in the way of people who want to contribute and make an impact. The transition from a small start-up style technology environment to a larger corporate company has not been easy for VMware. Employees and lower management bore most of this brunt. This journey has been exciting nonetheless. VMware is one of the few places where you can make a tangible impact to systems computing if you are determined to do so. There is seldom a dull moment here.
Cons
Upper management doesn't understand the needs of it's employees.Benefits provided to employees don't really do what they are supposed to. It almost seems as though some benefits were provided to check a box. Reckless spending and hiring by mid-level management has been having a pretty steady impact on the ability of the engineering and management team. One can't help but think that some incompetence has crept in. Further, the challenges in technology are not clear to those who don't work on it. Still, these folks sometimes make technology decisions. Though the company has a very bright future, the stock has taken a huge dip. It's unfortunate that upper management hasn't put in the effort to correct misconceptions on Wall Street about the technology or the company.