Microsoft Software Development Engineer reviews

Microsoft is really a dozen companies in one. Pick carefully, and don't just think "Oh, it's Microsoft." Groups differ greatly in their If you work for a really well-run group, then you can combine the benefits of working in a 200-person company with the benefits of working in an 80,000-person company. The small group can give a sense of purpose and esprit de corps, while the large company can provide good healthcare, a stable environment, and lots of learning opportunities. Go to the lunch tech talks to learn about the technology underlying other products. Go to MSR to hear about what's going on in the blue-sky research world. Flexible work hours, an informal attitude towards hierarchy. And the ability to hop around between groups at Microsoft, to work on different technologies without the hassle of having to change companies. If you get a sense of the landscape, know the landscape well, you can avoid most of the Cons listed below.

I worked at a startup that was aquired by Microsoft. The people in the team I worked with and the teams I interacted with were very knowledgeable, well qualified, encouraging and helpful. The managers were provided useful feedback and appreciated any extra work that was put in. It was my first job out of college and I was there for a little over a year and overall it was a very good experience.