Working at Apple

[Dj64Mk7]

The glass ceiling is well known. Apple Retail is a significant part of the company for sure, but you are just the sales and support arm of "Apple, Inc". If you have the choice, why not work for the main company and try and flesh out a long term career?

I have knowledge on most everything about Apple's current product line (I follow keynotes, news, and reviews very closely) along with a desire to share that knowledge with people. I feel joy when I know that I've helped someone with a problem, or when I have helped someone make a purchasing decision. I love the company culture, as well as the atmosphere in the retail stores.

I'm honestly asking, asides from a higher-level job with (of course) higher-level pay, what does corporate offer me?

 

[benzslrpee]

for immediate, tangible benefits:

• more exposure to the tech industry from multiple segments (operations, finance, manufacturing etc)
• more insight and visibility to the market, product design / creation / operation
• business decisions that involve where to allocate time, effort, and attention
• you interact with other like-minded individual working on technology problems that spans from consumer products to transportation to medicine to... take your pick
• like graduating from Harvard, Yale, or Stanford working at Apple corporate (or other F100 companies) opens up certain doors that are unavailable to others. not because of elitism (well maybe a teensy bit) but because recruiters know you had to have a certain education level for Apple to have picked you. to stay in Apple meant you had to have perform above average. working in Apple for x years meant you probably are familiar with how large business units function and depend on each other

longer term, intangible benefits:

• higher pay which enables the opportunity pursue an advanced degree. this is a huge, huge determinant in the picking out life partners (should you choose to do so) and an enormous impact on your children's future trajectory should you choose to want them. what so many people out there do not realize is that "financial inequality" was created long before the 2000s, 90s, or even the 80s... it was the academic decisions of parents / grandparents born out of the 50s, 60s, and 70s
• a good vacation policy enables you to travel to countries you've read in magazines, gain life experiences that help define you as a grown person (e.g. my co-worker loved mountain climbing till he was killed climbing down... not up... Mount Everest), broadens your understanding of different socioeconomic conditions in different cultures etc. which in the long run if you have global clients you may have a better chance of finding common ground or understanding a specific need unique to their conditions
• good health benefits can mean your future family may not need to stress as much if you were in a car accident. it also means the bill for surgery is $12,000 instead of $120,000

I have knowledge on most everything about Apple's current product line (I follow keynotes, news, and reviews very closely) along with a desire to share that knowledge with people. I feel joy when I know that I've helped someone with a problem, or when I have helped someone make a purchasing decision. I love the company culture, as well as the atmosphere in the retail stores.

I'm honestly asking, asides from a higher-level job with (of course) higher-level pay, what does corporate offer me?

 

[Tsuchiya]

I have knowledge on most everything about Apple's current product line (I follow keynotes, news, and reviews very closely) along with a desire to share that knowledge with people. I feel joy when I know that I've helped someone with a problem, or when I have helped someone make a purchasing decision. I love the company culture, as well as the atmosphere in the retail stores.

I'm honestly asking, asides from a higher-level job with (of course) higher-level pay, what does corporate offer me?

The bit in bold answers your question. Honestly, you seem more devoted than most of the people that Apple hires. Apple Retail is an immediate way to start working for the company absolutely, and can be fun. If you need a part time job while you study or something to fill in employment gaps then great, go for it. However, if you have the choice between retail and corporate, and you choose retail- you chose wrong.

 

[lowendlinux]

I'm going to disagree a bit with the above posters. Some folks just don't like corporate anything and need to be around people and customers. You can make a good living working in retail but you need an education and a willingness to put in grunt work. You as a person have to decide what you like then map a course to get there and if your not sure how ask. I was in my second year in college before I realized what I liked and didn't then went from there. If I were 16 again I'd find an oldster that knows me well and ask them what they thing my strengths and weaknesses are and bounce my plans off them. Skip your parents generation as their probably about my age and go for folks in your grandparents era.

 

[jeek]

Why do you say this? And what's so special about corporate?

Apple is made up of many different departments, and Retail is just one of them. It seems like you did some programming courses and expressed interest in it—Apple has a software development team, but it's not like you could work at a retail location selling iPhones and hope to become a software engineer by just climbing a "the ladder." You have to actually apply for those relevant positions to get into the right department and go from there. Also, almost every programmer at Apple in the U.S. is located in Cupertino or Santa Clara in California (they're nearby), so you would have to be willing to relocate.

Here's some advice:

• Focus on school and get good marks in your classes. Graduate with at least a B.S. in CompSci or similar STEM degree, and if you really love it or want to explore a more academic realm of this area, get an M.S..
• Participate in clubs around campus for programming. Get involved. I'd also suggest working for a smaller local company that is relevant to what you want to be doing later in life to get job experience.
• Once you get the degree, apply at Apple for a number of positions that you would be interested in. Believe me, once you go through college you will have a much better idea. I'd also apply at Google, Facebook, etc for the more known companies if working at huge tech corps your cup of tea, and even lesser-known companies in Silicon Valley (if that's where you want to be) to improve your odds of landing these jobs.

Apple is a great company to work for, but you're not the first person to want to work at Apple. All of those positions are well sought after. Expect there to be a lot of competition for each position, and getting a degree in these environments is a must-have if you want to work for these larger corporations, but it's only a prerequisite. The real way to differentiate yourself from the rest is the existing experience from previous jobs, clubs, etc and the drive to want the job. I think that if you really do posses the drive then you will get the job, or an equivalent from another business out there.

Good luck!

 

[Dj64Mk7]

Apple is made up of many different departments, and Retail is just one of them. It seems like you did some programming courses and expressed interest in it—Apple has a software development team, but it's not like you could work at a retail location selling iPhones and hope to become a software engineer by just climbing a "the ladder." You have to actually apply for those relevant positions to get into the right department and go from there. Also, almost every programmer at Apple in the U.S. is located in Cupertino or Santa Clara in California (they're nearby), so you would have to be willing to relocate.

Here's some advice:

• Focus on school and get good marks in your classes. Graduate with at least a B.S. in CompSci or similar STEM degree, and if you really love it or want to explore a more academic realm of this area, get an M.S..
• Participate in clubs around campus for programming. Get involved. I'd also suggest working for a smaller local company that is relevant to what you want to be doing later in life to get job experience.
• Once you get the degree, apply at Apple for a number of positions that you would be interested in. Believe me, once you go through college you will have a much better idea. I'd also apply at Google, Facebook, etc for the more known companies if working at huge tech corps your cup of tea, and even lesser-known companies in Silicon Valley (if that's where you want to be) to improve your odds of landing these jobs.

Apple is a great company to work for, but you're not the first person to want to work at Apple. All of those positions are well sought after. Expect there to be a lot of competition for each position, and getting a degree in these environments is a must-have if you want to work for these larger corporations, but it's only a prerequisite. The real way to differentiate yourself from the rest is the existing experience from previous jobs, clubs, etc and the drive to want the job. I think that if you really do posses the drive then you will get the job, or an equivalent from another business out there.

Good luck!

Thanks for the detailed reply! I think I've figured out that my priority right now should be getting good grades in school, then starting to research college further down the line.