IT Management: Google, Apple, Amazon Top List of High-Tech Companies to Work For

Universum, a research firm focused on employer branding, regularly surveys professionals about their views on certain companies as employers. Based on some 10,000 respondents, Universum came up with a list of U.S. companies perceived as attractive places to work—and tech dominated much of the list. Google and Apple take the first two spots, Amazon.com rounds out the list at No. 5, and the various Web companies, device manufacturers and carriers pepper the rest of the rankings. For employers, these types of surveys allow their HR people to tinker with messages and themes for recruitment campaigns, adjust their levels of benefits and perks and focus on attracting different types of employees. But what makes a particular company an attractive place to work for professionals? Based on the tech companies in Universum's top 10—Google, Apple, Amazon.com and Microsoft—it's not only the benefits and high salaries that come with working for a massive and well-known corporation: it's likely also the idea that your work contributes to something cutting-edge and transformative. Who wouldn't want to go home and tell the family about your day building the next great tablet or Kinect or search engine? The dominance of major firms on this list—alongside the tech giants, other companies making the top rankings include tiny startups like Disney, the U.S. State Department and NASA—suggests that professionals also find larger companies with a long history to be a more attractive proposition. Which doesn't come as a huge surprise—if there's one thing a professional enjoys more than helping change the world, it's the peace of mind that comes with knowing your company will be around for some years to come, no matter how rough the economic waters.