Since the company is growing rapidly, there is a lot of space to growth. The management team has a lot of candor in communicating what is going on with the company, which helps a lot. The company seem to value youth a lot, so getting promoted as a young person doesn't seem to be a problem as long as you do your job well. I know people who are over 40 and were actually removed from the company due to lean efficiency. Finally, promotions do not necessarily result in high salary, as the company oftentimes just raise your salary with the appropriate inflations of the year.

Genetech is one of the stars in the field and is very competitive to get in. There are 3 interview rounds, and they focus quite heavily on behavior interviews. They look for high intelligence as well as high energy and motivation.

The work in R&D is extremely exciting, but quite intense. The environment expects a lot out of you (although culture is rather laid back). However, things that are done in manufacturing are quite loose and the work isn't that great. Finally, due to the management of the different divisions, sometimes it would be confusing for employees in terms of coordinating with what the management want in good structure.

The benefits at Genetech are great. It has a healthy 401K matching plan, discounted employee stock purchase plan, good health, dental and vision benefits, and lots of good food deals. However, in terms of actual salary, it is quite low. Amany times, one would get promotions with more responsibility, but no raise in salary. This is part of the nature of Genentech trying to operate like a efficient small company. The compensation here is definitely for lifestyle and learning, not for money.

Understandably, the company wants to maintain the culture of a small company. However, they are dealing with large company issues and opportunities, and using the small-company methods, their growth may be hampered. They are hiring people with a very high speed, and many will have to struggle to find their positioning in the company. Also, decision making is very centralized at the top management, which may affect the cohesiveness of the people working at the bottom. The people here are great though. They are smart and helpful, though the work can be very intense.