Company: Microsoft
Date: 2015-10-11
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current
Experience level: Senior

Signed on in the late 1990s, still finding it to be a good deal.
Pros: - Good work-life balance, for the large groups in which I've worked.
- Plenty of opportunities to learn on the job.
- Easy to move between groups when one needs a change.
- Easy to find groups doing the types of work one is looking for, since the company is involved in many different areas across the industry.
- The current annual review system is much improved over the past 15+ years' Ballmer-era system & its variations, at least with respect to one's performance rating.
Cons: - The compensation side of the current annual review system still needs refinement. Compensation ratings are relative vs. peers -- which is arguably necessary, given budget realities -- but divisions vary in how they allocate rewards across the rating spread, and the results are not always fair to all involved.