Company: Microsoft
Date: 2011-08-29
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current

High Bureaucracy Tax
Pros: It's obviously an established and well-rounded company with plenty of smart people to work with and learn from. The company focuses very hard on career development and tries to help you maximize your productivity. A lot of people complain about one thing or another, but the bottom line is that they take good care of you in numerous ways.
Cons: There is a very high bureaucracy tax. There are many re-orgs to sidetrack entire teams and individual obstacles (crazy frameworks for everything) are all over the place. You half to be half-politician to have a successful career here and the review process can be either lucrative or maddeningly arbitrary and painful (depending on many factors out of your control). It's a great place for people who want to drink the cool-aid and settle and be comfortable... and can be frustrating for others.