Company: Microsoft
Date: 2011-07-06
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

The experience at Microsoft can be great, but depends heavily on the project and the team
Pros: In a good organization, this can be a fantastic place to work. There can be encouragement for taking on new challenges, while also protecting employees from overcommitting. There can be exciting projects for exciting target audiences. The recent changes to the review and compensation model seem to be taking things in a far more competitive direction. There are a lot of smart people here, and also a lot of very nice people. In my experiences people are supportive of one another, and not competitive in a negative way.
Cons: Working in Redmond is a drag if you are a Seattle resident. The review process can be disadvantageous in some organizations, depending on what it is they value. If you work in a matrix-based organization, there can be challenges in making sure your work is "visible" to the people who actually make decisions about your advancement. There is some evidence that the process of innovation is not alive or well in some groups. Previously, it seemed the Microsoft underpaid, but it appears that is improving pretty quickly. Reorganizations can be frequent, and disruptive, in some organizations, and at some times.