Company: Microsoft
Date: 2009-10-24
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: current

Used to be an excellent place to work, now with layoffs it's just like any other.
Pros: a. Very knowledgeable people.
b. Access to technology.
c. Excellent benefits.
d. Seattle region is beautiful all year round.
e. Good diversity.
Cons: a. Review system is ridiculous, only the managers' good friends are recognized.
b. There are lots of politics at the middle management level, so many times the project that you've worked hard to complete might be cancelled just because one mid-manager did not like the other mid-manager.
c. So many  layers of management, it's bewildering.
d. So many cost-cutting measurements, but 
d.1 Marketing Managers go to Paris with their espouses for a week with all expenses paid by the company.
d.2 1 billion (with  a B) dollars were spent in bonuses with the top management, even with their horrible results.
e. There's no way for someone to grow a career unless you go to management.
f. There's a reorg every 6 months where everything changes, including your manager. So you need to re-work your relationship with the manager, who already has his/her group of friends to protect.
g. And last but not least: the specter of another layoff always looming at the horizon.