Prós
I had a non-tech background, and I did a painful few years at NI to get the experience to get a job at an actual good company. So... good way to get experience?
Contras
Alex Davern and Eric Starkloff are two of the most incompetent leaders I've ever seen in my career so far. They managed to run a proud, homegrown Austin tech company into the ground, and now I hear NI is being bought by Emerson. This comes after the company has been floundering for years under Alex and Eric's leadership. Alex did such a bad job he left to go teach at the Red McCombs business school; I have no idea what he would actually teach, it certainly wouldn't be how to run a successful company. Key Point: During the pandemic when all tech companies were flush with cash as their stock values skyrocketed, NI's stock price stayed flat and even dropped. You have to be REALLY incompetent to screw up when everyone else was succeeding for just existing. Toxic management: Lots of middle managers who were just awful human beings. Cared more about getting promotions than doing a good job. Lied to their own teams constantly. I've seen (and been on the receiving end) of managers yelling and insulting employees in group meetings. Low Pay: Lowest pay for a tech company in Austin, by far. They could only pick up recent graduates; once you got a few years of experience you left to get better pay elsewhere.