Company Profile: Google

Google, Inc. was founded by Sergey Brin and Larry Page as they attended Stanford University; the company was launched in 1998 from a garage office. With its IPO, Google made over one and a half billion dollars, and today the company has over twelve thousand employees worldwide. Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it useful and accessible to all. It was named as the best place to work by MBA students in 2006, and in 2007/2008 it was named by Fortune Magazine as #1 on their list of the best companies to work for.

Its work environment is fast paced and high energy. The dress code is casual, but Google attracts some of the tech industry's best and brightest minds. Their headquarters in Mountain View, CA has the atmosphere of a college campus, and it has amenities such as a gym, a café, and employee lounges. Engineering employees at Google are encouraged to devote one-fifth of their time to personal projects; about half of all new projects are attributable to this program. Google has offices in fourteen states, including California, Arizona and New York. There are also international offices in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Most Google employees have salaries at the bottom of the range for the markets in which they work, but those base salaries are augmented by stock options, great benefits packages and a challenging work environment. All Google workers get comprehensive health care for themselves and their families, plus dental and doctor care at the California and Seattle, WA offices. They also get paid parental leave, and all new parents can use a $500 expense account for meals during the first few weeks they are home with their new babies. The company also provides free child care and adoption assistance, and backup child care is also provided. In the Mountain View office, free dry cleaning and laundry rooms are provided.