Company: Microsoft
Date: 2011-01-17
Overall rating: 3/5
Employment status: former

Long Time Microsoft Employee
Pros: Microsoft is generally a great place to work.  Although perception has changed Microsoft's core capabilities are still very strong.  There are business groups that are strong and generally carry the company (groups such as Windows, Office, Development products, & Server & Tools business are still the core of the company).   The company has very good benefits and the salaries are pretty commensurate with what is generally in the industry.  The good money is made at the Director level (or principal PM, Dev & Test Management levels). If you are fortunate enough to get into one of those groups that are core to the business you would be in great shape for potential to grow your career.  Also, for career growth groups that have competition with other industry leaders are great...  think Windows, SQL, Win Server, etc are great... it gives you the opportunity to really dig into the competition and get out of the Microsoft centric thinking that is prevalent throughout the company.
Cons: Groups such as Entertainment & Devices (which contain XBox, Zune, & Phone) generally struggle since they are not core to the companies bottom line.  I've seen in recent years where the company has pushed people who had been at the company for some time 10+ years to bring in other people they can pay less. Not much in the way of Stocks at Microsoft as the stock has been generally flat for the past 10 years.  AS the company has grown things are very political and there is not as much  innovation as there had been in years past.  Microsoft seems to be going back into the fast follower status in innovation (think zune vs ipod, Azure vs AWS, & Kinect vs Wii)...  This is no accusation that Microsoft has done any better or worse but adoption is critically important in being an industry leader (Wii was years ahead of Kinect and the iPod was years ahead of Zune) - fast fallower means your adoption (and profits) will follow first to market.