Amazon vs. Apple: Who’s The Better IT Employer?

The tech industry is growing, fast. The Bureau of Labor Statistics expects IT management job opportunities to grow by 18 percent between 2008 and 2018. Opportunities for software developers are expected to grow by 21 percent in the same time. If you work in this industry, you’ll likely have more than one employer courting you. Which IT employer would be your best fit?

PayScale recently collected all of its data about IT employers and organized it into their new feature, “Top IT Employers Compared.” This collection of comparisons goes beyond salary and benefits. PayScale has information from employees at different IT companies about their level of job satisfaction, how much control they have over their work schedule, the median age of workers at the company, gender splits and much more.

Did you know that Microsoft is the only company where employees report receiving paternity leave? Workers at Apple highlight, more often that not, that they are given tech gifts, products and other presents from the company. Meanwhile, Facebook employees report free beverages, flexible schedules and complimentary cell phones, but higher stress levels than most other IT companies.

Here are some more factoids from the study. You can get information about salary, company culture, job satisfaction, and benefits & perks at each of these IT companies.

IT Employer Comparison Facts:

• Microsoft is the only company where casual dress is listed as a perk.
• IBM offers the most vacation weeks per year, on average: 3.2 weeks.
• Dell gives its employees a game room.
• Of the nine companies studied, Facebook has the highest percentage of female employees at 33 percent.
• Facebook has the lowest median age, 26, while Hewlett-Packard and IBM tie for the highest with 44.
• IBM’s workers have the highest level of experience, overall.
• Amazon and Facebook employees report the most stress.
• Google is the only company where employees report being extremely satisfied with their work and also enjoying a very high level of flexibility in their schedule.
• Microsoft has the highest starting salaries while Google has the highest mid-career (15 years) salaries.
• Hewlett-Packard has the lowest mid-career pay.

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