Company: Microsoft
Date: 2008-05-07
Overall rating: 5/5
Employment status: current

Unlimited opportunities and endless challenge.
Pros: Incredible challenging work and the opportunity to have multiple careers over a long tenure at the company.  People in all disciplines are incredibly strong and often the best in the business which means you are surrounded by minds that can constantly challenge and push you to your fullest potential.  Not only is feedback appreciated, it is expected and leadership across the company is very thoughtful about how they respond and react to employees when providing suggestions for improving our business.  Ultimately, you can have multiple careers and really follow your passion to find projects and work that constatly excited and challenge you - regardless of the role you are seeking.
Cons: It is a very fast moving environment so it can be a challegne to manage work life balance if you are not assertive.  The company moves at the speed of the Internet and often times there is less infrastructure that most people from other large companies might expect.  The good news is that means very little adminstrative bureaucracy, but can also mean there is more ambiguity than is comfortable for a lot of people.  You have to be driven and constantly willing to learn, grow and take feedback.  This can also mean that sometimes we recreate the wheel or don't take advantage of the experiences others have had.