Company: Microsoft
Date: 2015-09-09
Overall rating: 4/5
Employment status: former

Much Improved Review Process
Pros: Great benefits and perks. Work on world-class technology with infinite reach. Tons of talented people. Now that the review process has been re-vamped it is a more positive experience while still encouraging employee growth.
Cons: In the Xbox division work-life balance is a serious problem. Boom-or-bust is the rule and periods of steady, regular hours are rare. You either might as well be on vacation, or you might as well never leave the office. After ten years it became obvious that this is by design. Other divisions are better in this regard.

Bureaucracy had gotten worse prior to the shakeup in summer of '14. Hopefully it has been streamlined since. 

Might not be the best place for top talent to try to get rich. It's still not clear how Microsoft plans to compete with Google and Apple to regain their status as the stock market's darling.

For SDETs opportunities to advance are thin in some parts of the company.