Pros
Whether they genuinely care about their employees as humans or not, they at least do a darn good job of acting like they do. Microsoft is a rare company that understands "if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your company." - I dare you to find a better 401k match. 50% on any contribution amount, up to the government's limit. AND it vests immediately. It's yours from day one. Literally $10,250 of free money on top of normal compensation. - Healthcare is great. Tier 1 in the US for sure. Maybe there's a couple companies out there with better coverage. But Microsoft doesn't charge you for it. Literally zero dollars out of the employee's paycheck. There's a fee to add a spouse or domestic partner denying their own company's coverage, but that's fair. Also no added cost for dependents. That's amazing. Parental leave. They match the WA State policy of 12 weeks (+ more for birth mothers). It's super easy to take advantage of, and it's available Day 1 of employment. It's unfortunate that this benefit feels "special" in the US, but I'm thankful for it. - Base is competitive. But actually competitive. Not how bs companies say it as a way to compete with you for the lowest pay possible. They get it. They need and want to get quality people, and keep them at Microsoft. - Any negative culture stigmas from a couple decades ago are gone. The culture now is relentlessly supportive and accommodating. Work life balance is preached. We're all adults here, trusting other adults to do their job, regardless of what hours they need to do it. - Signing bonus + stock bonus + annual bonus. Work hard, get more. Beautiful. I've historically cringed at people who spewed love for their company on Glassdoor. It always screamed "I'm and HR drone posting fake reviews to cover up all the bad ones." But here I am. Not an HR drone, a real human grateful to be in the Microsoft bubble. Believe it or not.
Cons
Let's be real. No company is perfect. Work is work. But for sake of not being "everything is perfect," - It's a huge company. The endless abyss of information, acronyms, jargon, etc can be obnoxious. Onboarding can be comical. Where do I find xyz? What's actually important? What version of comparable documents is the "right" one? But that's easily combatted by asking someone who knows. - Huge company means lots of "hurry up and wait." Let's be honest, that's frustrating. You're bound to encounter differing opinions and such. "Looks good, but ope, now there's feedback from another group, and now we need approval from xyz. Glad I stressed about this yesterday when it turns out it's gonna sit for another week.