Company: Microsoft
Date: 2008-12-27
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: current

Not a good place for people who want to advance rapidly.
Pros: Health benefits; reputation of company throughout the larger corporate world is still phenomenal.  While it is mixed inside the technology world, I still find that people are in awe when I tell them that I work for Microsoft.  That's a great feeling.
Cons: Too many management layers; takes too long for high-achieving people to get promoted; not the best place to work for people to want to rapidly advance.  I personally know of several people who, at most other companies, would be much further along in terms of pay and comparable job leveling if they were somewhere else.  But, Microsoft's corporate bureaucracy and political process has slowed them in their advancement tremendously.  This is tantamount to taking food out of peoples' mouths.