Company: Microsoft
Date: 2008-06-11
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

Great place to work
Pros: Despite complains, we're actually very well paid. Developers are respected as the leaders and drivers of the company, which isn't true in most places. If you get bored in what you're working on, the company has many different technologies to work from and it is relatively easy to switch jobs after a year. Great job stability. If you are talented then you never have to worry about finding work. Work/Life balance is great (though this isn't true for every team).
Cons: There are two major downsides. First, our bonuses are small compared to other companies so our total compensation is often lower. We more than make up for it in stock awards but those take 5 years to pay out.  And second, we are located in Redmond, WA. WA is an absolutely dismal place for about 90% of the year and it takes some serious getting used to.