Company: Microsoft
Date: 2009-04-23
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: former

Pays well if you like having no life outside work
Pros: The pay is one of the highest in the software industry.  You work with a lot of very smart people.  There is a fairly high level of autonomy in most positions.  You are expected to get your work done on time and with a minimum of hand-holding.
Cons: Work/Life balance is almost non-existant.  You are encouraged to come in early and stay late whenever possible.  During "crunch time" it's more of a mandate than an encouragement.  Political ties make more difference in promotions than actual work performance.  If you are a successful SDE you will be moved up the Manager track most likely (since a lot of the successful SDEs have good leadership qualities that a lot of current managers lack).