NOT what it use to be - Senior Program Manager Microsoft Employee Review
- 1.0Feb 29, 2012Senior Program ManagerCurrent EmployeeRedmond, WA
Pros
Benefits are amazing Free bus service to work Lots of freebees
Cons
The most uncollaborative work environment on the planet - the only way to move forward is to stab your neighbor in the back. The culture here actually encourages self-promotion and to tear down others. Ironically they spend millions on programs to appear as if this is not the case - then reviews come, and its Social Darwinism in its pure form - the only thing I have not seen first hand, is for a VP to eat their young. I cannot wait to get out of here - and I am actually doing well in terms of reviews and bonus - but life is too short to move a career forward at this expense level. I suspect those who love this enviroment have not been here long enough to realize that for them to move forward - they will need to leave a wake of bodies in their path - which is not for everyone.
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Other Employee Reviews
- 5.0Nov 29, 2023Research InternFormer Intern, less than 1 yearRedmond, WA
Pros
- Rich resources for developing a research project
Cons
- At 2022, the internship was conducted in remote mode, which reduced the chances of talking to colleagues and exchanging ideas
- 4.0Jan 28, 2013Anonymous EmployeeCurrent Employee, more than 10 yearsRedmond, WA
Pros
1. If you love tech, this is a great place. No doubt you'll talk tech (mostly the MSFT stack) from enterprise to consumer - from PCs to phones to Xboxes - from datacenter to desktop. 2. What were GREAT benefits are now VERY GOOD (took a small step down) but still probably better than you'll find at 99% of large corporations. If you've got family - the value of the benefits is even higher. 401k match is nice. 3. Even with it's struggles MSFT is still a cash printing machine. This means if you can keep your nose clean and do reasonable work, you can have a stable job, pay your bills, feed your family, and not worry (too much) about layoffs. The stock you own likely won't tank, but probably won't go up much either. You'll get a bonus each year and some stock. It's a decent life if you aren't looking to light the world on fire.
Cons
Brand on Your Resume: After many years of losing market share and struggling to be at the front end of innovation and the fact that there's 90,000 employees, don't think MSFT is necessarily going to be attractive on your resume to more agile and smaller companies. Managing Your Career: Make you say this out loud so it registers - 90,000 employees work there. Double that for vendors. It is VERY hard to "stand out" and move up in the company. Don't expect your manager to be much of an advocate or enabler to help you meet your career goals - they are basically trying to survive the stack rank every year too. Not familiar with the stack rank? Check out the 2012 Vanity Fair article called "Microsoft's Lost Decade".
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