Microsoft Software Engineer (Software Developer II) reviews

Good benefits - health insurance is good (but was better as a PPO before being a high deductible HSA), free sodas, choice of wellness benefits (fancy gym membership or money for sports extracurriculars), on sight locker rooms with towel service, charity giving match, opportunities for free products, reduced cost software. If you get on a good team they become like a second family (which is good because work life balance can be bad - see cons). Fair and reasonable time off -- 3 weeks vacation to start, with an extra week at 6 years, and another at 12; 10 sick days, 2 floating holidays, plus 8 company holidays. Many managers are willing to be flexible if you need a half day, or run out of sick time to let you make it up in other ways. Commute options are good - free parking, complimentary bus pass, plus company run shuttle service (The Connector)

At Microsoft you get a lot of opportunities to work on established projects where you can impact real end users. If you do get on a start-up type of team, you are well protected in the warm corporate womb of cash flow, and you will have a lot of freedom to innovate. Of course the benefits are king. I think it dates back to the hey day of Microsoft dominance, and I don't expect that to last forever, but it's been a very nice starting boost to my finances work here as my first company. The company is going through necessary changes without which it would definitely die a slow death (even though there is cash to burn for years). I know these are painful changes for a lot of people who were laid off. However from the longer term strategy perspective as well as the impact to my personal day to day, I think these changes are mostly positive and from what I can tell, many of my co-workers do as well. Despite what you may feel about Microsoft's stack from a technical perspective, you can't deny they have made a huge impact on computing. They were first company in many ways to exemplify the power of software to the world. There is the attitude here of wanting to make software to make the world a better place.