>>> Culture: One of the worst cultures you can find in the whole of software industry. >>> Onsite: Contrary to the popular belief, the number of trips to foreign lands isn't a measure of one's technical prowess. It is mostly (but not always) a measure of how dispassionate one is about engineering and his profession, and how greedy one can be for wealth.

I find such statements really insulting to find such generalizations - You can tell me if this is generalization or not, but I find it very insulting to paint with such broad brush.

I have come across several (hundreds) of smart individuals in these companies. I have had colleagues who were well respected by peers in industry working in these companies - who have been experts in their technology area.

I do not find the above statements in blog to be fair and hence my comment in HN. Normally I would pass up such articles trying to stir arguments deliberately but I had to convey my point at least to a small group that may appreciate what it means to someone with background similar to mine.

Your thoughts?

I worked in one of these companies and I will tell you what type of things happen.

# People insult each other in bulletin board. I am not kidding. This is true.

# Guys leave useless and flirtatious comments on blogs of girls in the internal blogs.

# You have to compulsorily stay 9.5 hours in office every day even if you have no work.

# In many projects there is no system of code review. how will the freshers learn from their mistakes without code review?

# File checkin is done not using client side tools but some crappy software created by internal IT team. The crappy software is interface between CVS and desktop. You have to reserve names for new files you have created one by one, then upload them one by one, upload each modified file one by one via a HTML GUI. It takes roughly 3 hours to checkin just 10 files.

I agree with the author that these companies have one of the worst culture.

I started my career here and after that I worked in 3 more different companies. All the three were better than these companies. At least I can check in code properly where I am now. At least I can disagree with other people in company bulletin board without fearing that someone will abuse me or insult me. Infosys TCS or Wipro is absolutely bad place to start your career if your aim is to learn good programming, learn good work culture and learn good knowledge from good colleagues.

You are probably looking at it as an issue specific to those companies. I am looking at it as a larger issue - herd mentality and a bigger issue in culture. Having said that, I take it that it is the responsibility of company to make some strong statement by kicking such employees out. If users can be trained or disciplined to behave in an online forum like HN or SO, I do not see why it can't be "enforced" in these companies.

If this is happening in these companies, it is something these companies should take up seriously - lest it destroy their very existence - you can't have angry & misbehaving waiters to serve customers and expect to do well in a restaurant business.

I am with you on your other point. Even I would hate it when someone would insist upon me to stay for 9.5 hours (though I have always had flexible managers in TCS & Cognizant) who were never particular about it. I can't comment on Infosys, as I have not worked there.

As for using crappy software for check-ins I really think it is pathetic if that is the case. At least I have never experienced such bad software being "enforced" in my 9+ yrs in these companies.

I give it to you that these may be the 3rd or 4th best options for someone to start their career, if not in any startup. The advice I would still give people in these companies & the ones who join anyway is that: be aware of the industry you are in; connect with a larger community outside and be passionate about technology and least of all "not to get institutionalized".

I know exactly what you are talking about. ;)