Some companies are definitely better than others for pay/benefits/process/general BS level, but for ICs, most of your experience is going to be shaped by the qu

Some companies are definitely better than others for pay/benefits/process/general BS level, but for ICs, most of your experience is going to be shaped by the quality of your direct manager and coworkers (and there's usually a strong correlation between the quality of your direct manager and coworkers. :) If you have any concerns about (or god forbid, no knowledge of) your manager in a new opportunity, that's an excellent reason for a hard-pass.