Company: Microsoft
Date: 2009-03-25
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

Work life balance is available at Microsoft, but you must demand it
Pros: Good compensation package, especially for highly qualified employees.

There is also an opportunity to work on incredible projects that are used by literally billions of people.  You can still change the world working at Microsoft.

It is an incredible rush to work with so many insanely smart and driven people.
Cons: There is a lot of talk about work-life balance, but the reality is that you only get the work-life balance that you demand. It is up to the employee to say "no" when they have had enough.

While the compensation package is good, Microsoft isn't minting any new millionaires.  If you come to work for Microsoft, you are working for a paycheck.