Company: Microsoft
Date: 2008-05-02
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: former

Microsoft is a great place to work but no longer the greatest.
Pros: World class benefits unmatched by any other employer; one of the richest and most active internal technical communities; resources available on the intranet rivals what is publicly available on the Internet at large; every organization's budget includes "Morale" for off-site events, social gatherings, and fun; access to company store where software costs 10% of list price; employee only discounts and deals offered by Microsoft customers and partners; free membership to the Pro Club in Puget Sound; Fully paid relocation including reimbursement of real estate commission, packing of your house, shipment of automobiles, and spending money; on campus towel stocked locker rooms and gourmet cafeteria
Cons: Advertised compensation being better than 2/3 of the industry means that salary is not very competitive with other technical companies in the area; Not-invented-here syndrome wastes productivity on creating technology that already exists; Some groups thrive on bureaucracy and preservation of job security at the expense of agility and efficiency; No on-site day care; choice of funds for 401(k) is limited and underperforming; average length of time for pay grade promotion is 3 years; too much project management; outsourced internal services look great on paper but leave much to be desired by those forced to use it; no free food