Microsoft Employee Review

I have been working at Microsoft

Pros – You really can't ask for more, in some sense. If you're a strong engineer with decent soft skills, you'll quickly rise to the right level in the company. Many people don't make it past a certain level because they undervalue (or refuse to value) soft skills -- "if I'm hardcore enough of an engineer, I should be a VP." But if you have solid technical chops and also can work well with others, you'll do well.

The benefits and pay really can't be beat, at least for people with a strong growth potential. However, the pay is predictable and less lottery-like; you should join a startup if you're hoping to make millions regardless of your skill level. At Microsoft, it's way too late to "make millions," but a solid engineer should expect to make very good money.

Cons – It's a big company. One of the largest in software. So it has some traditional big-company drawbacks. Like slow decision-making. Like re-orgs. Like a mixed bag of people in some organizations.

Advice to Senior Management – Take a big, big risk. Microsoft is at a "good to great" inflection point. It needs to take on something massively risky. Like what was done with Xbox, which bled money for years but is now a great platform.

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend