Microsoft reviews

The compensation is amazing. While it's true that there are many companies doing interesting projects, the pay and benefits at Microsoft simply blow away other company. Their offers are almost impossible to turn down. Honestly, for a lot of developers, it's not the "evil empire" the outside world perceives it to be. Most folks are excited about delivering new benefits to the customers and don't concern themselves the supposed conspiracies bloggers like to discuss. If you get on a product team you really care about, your passion will help shape the solution from day one because everyone truly wants to deliver the best solutions. Microsoft lets you focus on your job with minimum overhead. You can actually spend the majority of your day writing code and not be bothered with administrative paperwork, irrelevant meetings, or any other kind of interference. Most developers meet with their managers to discuss their yearly goals, but that really is the majority of the non-programming responsibilities. A lot of product groups provide weekly or bi-weekly lectures on a technology they've been working on. These usually include an introduction, code samples and lessons learned. Not only is it very interesting to see what's going on in the company, you also get the chance to continue learning from other developers. Mobility in the company is great. If you want to change product teams, it's just a matter of an interview with the team of interest and you're set. There are no hard feelings or pressure from managers that may hinder you from pursuing your interests.

Range of opportunities: Microsoft builds just about every kind of software imaginable so you can switch every few years and work on a different product with different challenges. Smart people: The vast majority of Microsoft employees are smart, nice people. If you've worked at companies where that's not the case, you know how important this is. As an example, I hang out with my co-workers after work -- not because I have to or because I don't know anyone else, but because they're great people that I enjoy hanging out with. Reach of products: There are very few other companies where you can work on a product that will reach millions of users and potentially change the way people do work and live their life. Great benefits: The medical and dental plan at Microsoft are very comprehensive. This is especially valuable if you have a family. Stability: No worrying about whether or not Microsoft will make payroll.