Company: Microsoft
Date: 2012-04-22
Overall rating: 5/5
Employment status: current

A great place to do computer science research
Pros: During my summer there, I was amazed at the caliber of the MSR staff and the quality of their research.  There are few industrial labs of this size for computer science research, and it appears that full-time researchers are given lots of latitude to pursue their own agenda.  For computer science PhD students, experience at MSR will open lots of doors in both academia and industry.
Cons: Unlike in other parts of Microsoft, a  successful summer as a research intern is not a guaranteed path to full time employment in Microsoft Research.