Company: Microsoft
Date: 2013-06-27
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: former
Experience level: Senior

Get to work with smart people, but the politics are stifling
Pros: You are surrounded by incredibly intelligent, passionate people.  The benefits were excellent and I was paid very well.  The experience has looked great on a resume.
Cons: The politics now are just awful.  Too many middle managers care more about themselves and carving out their slivers of power than they do about doing the right thing for their employees, their customers, or the company as a whole.

The review model makes it a highly competitive work environment.  You always need to watch your back, because your co-workers will try to screw you over to get ahead of you in the stack ranking.  

People are afraid of change at the company, so innovation is dead in a lot of groups.  The best way to succeed in those groups is to toe the party line instead of innovate.  In those groups, if you are a dynamic thinker who looks for ways to improve the team, you will be miserable.