What is your experience dealing with MathWorks as a company?

[bbartson]

My brother is considering going to work for The MathWorks. I'm doing some research for him to determine whether it really would be a good place to work. If any of you have worked or do work for the company and could share some insight on what kind of company they are to work for I would greatly appreciate it. If you are a user and have had good/bad experiences dealing with their support/sales people that is incredibly insightful too.

Thanks for your input!

Regards,
Brent Bartson

 

[Lewish]

I have found their sales people to be arrogant and brainwashed into believing that no other option exists except the Mathworks option. I have also had mixed success with their technical support group. If it is a common question, they respond right away. But, if it is a little unusual, they throw a lot of words at you but give no real help. I have had a standing bug/problem report in with them for 3 releases now, and they still haven't fixed it. They acknowledge the problem and keep promising to fix it. Maybe someday.
I have also found that the sales people will promise you the moon, and then when you find out the solution won't work, well, it was your fault for not investigating further before buying. A previous employer threatened them with a 10 million dollar lawsuit, if they didn't make good on what they had promised in writing. Mathworks crawfished a lot, and then offered a full refund and a few other considerations.
So, in a few words, I have had some bad experiences with them. But, to be fair, I have also had some good support out of them. Like any big company, which is almost a monopoly in their field, you have to keep them honest.
I would suggest your brother take the job, if this is the kind of work he wants to do. Maybe he can help straighten them out.
Good luck to him.