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Industrial Light & Magic

Part of Lucasfilm

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ILM? More like ILMN, the N stands for Nepotism - VFX Artist Industrial Light & Magic Employee Review

1.0
Aug 11, 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

This text field required me to write at least five words so I am writing this sentence because the only thing I really want to put here is Good Benefits.

Cons

In all my years I have never seen such a complete saturation of unqualified leaders. It starts with the worst unknowledgeable biased managers who only promote based on their personal friendships while having no knowledge of the industry or the practical side of the work itself in order to be able to judge what is going on in the departments. The only way you can progress your career at this company is if you suck up to a few particular people. Quality work does not get you anywhere, talk does. As a result you end up with only talkers in leadership positions. The vast majority (9/10) are completely unqualified as leaders, extremely insecure about their decisions so they are incapable of compromise and extremely fast to blame others for their failures. All they know is how to talk and these god awful managers love it and equate the loudest voices with the most expertise. I have got almost 25 years of experience in this industry and this company is by far the worst I have come across. It's not even close to any others. Every single reasonable person has left this company. They don't last long because they quickly get fed up with the environment and politics. As a result there is this pure environment of only people who fit the above description. People here all think they are special because they are at ILM. I have never seen any company with egos as big as the ones of the leaders here. The more you talk the more you are in the running to get promoted. There are people who get 1-2 promotions each year while others have to wait many years for even one. Quality is irrelevant. You have to see it to believe it. By far the worst company in this industry.

Explore other reviews about Industrial Light & Magic

5.0
Nov 12, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Everyone there is super passionate about the work & needless to say that everyone is working on something cool. The location is also very nice and scenic

Cons

Getting to the office can be a challenge, depending on where you are in SF. Also, since a lot of employees work from home, the office can be empty at times.

1.0
Dec 8, 2025
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Working with industry leaders and awesome creatives. People are generally down to earth. Campus is really cool.

Cons

Culture is very back-stabbing. I was told I was doing a great job by most collaborators, but one person had it out for me and it became toxic. The Disney element sucks. Low pay compared to other Bay-Area companies.

2
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