Not being able to select your own hardware for a job is perhaps one of my worst experiences to date.

At one company, I was handed laptop with an older version of Windows, preinstalled bloatware, 3rd party encryption software, anti-virus, VPNs, etc. Even worse, the laptop was about more than 16 inches and weighted over 3 kg because the company crammed in as much expensive hardware in it as possible -- so that the computer would fit everyones needs.

I understand the need for company IT policies, but global companies have such complicated policies it basically hindered all my work.

You won't believe the sigh of relief when I started at a small start-up company, and I was able to choose all of my hardware. The CTO ensured my SSH keys would grant me access to all the servers I would need.