Autodesk often makes those Forbes lists such as best places to work or most innovative companies:

When I interview summer interns, the first question that they often ask is "Why do you like working at Autodesk?" I like working at Autodesk because:

• Our customers make things.

  Though Autodesk is a computer aided design (CAD) company, I am not a CAD guy. My master's degree is in software engineering, so as a software guy, I could be working on any kind of software. I am delighted that the software that I do work on helps people design, make, and use places, things, and movies/games.

• Our executive staff is smart.

  I trust our executive staff. Years ago, I made this video.

  I like that our executive staff is forward-looking. Industries are moving to a cloud/mobile/social world, and CAD has to move along with it.

• Our employees try to do the right thing.

  Our company vision is to help everyone imagine, design, and create a better world, and employees take that to heart. It guides everything we do from the features we add to our products/services to volunteering up to 4 paid hours per month in our children's schools.

I have worked at Hospital Computer Systems, Honeywell, GTE, Océ, and Autodesk (in a few other forms such as Ithaca Software and Buzzsaw.com), and in my unbiased opinion :-), Autodesk is the best.

Workplace appreciation is alive in the lab.