Is Microsoft a good company to work for as a Software Development Engineer?

Software Development Engineer professionals working at Microsoft have rated their employer with 4.1 out of 5 stars in 825 Glassdoor reviews. This is a higher than average score with the overall rating of Microsoft employees being 4.0 out of 5 stars. Search open Software Development Engineer Jobs at Microsoft now and start preparing for your job interview by browsing frequently asked Software Development Engineer interview questions at Microsoft .

Does Microsoft pay Software Development Engineer employees well?

Software Development Engineer professionals rate their compensation and benefits at Microsoft with 3.5 out of 5 stars based on 825 anonymously submitted employee reviews. This is 10.8% worse than the company average rating for salary and benefits. Find out more about Software Development Engineer salaries and benefits at Microsoft .

How happy are Software Development Engineer professionals working at Microsoft?

74% of Software Development Engineer employees at Microsoft would recommend their employer to a friend. This rating has increased by 40% in the past 12 months. Software Development Engineer professionals have also rated Microsoft with a 4.2 rating for work-life-balance, 4.4 rating for diversity and inclusion, 4.3 rating for culture and values and 4.0 rating for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Microsoft?

Software Engineer (6606) , Senior Software Engineer (1742) , Program Manager (1398) , Software Engineer II (1038) , Software Development Engineer (888) , Senior Program Manager (861) , Product Manager (718) , Intern (689) , Technical Support Engineer (684) , Software Developer (666) , Software Development Engineer (SDE) (629) , Consultant (545) , Director (531) , Software Engineer(Internship) (530) , Project Manager (479)

What are the pros of working at Microsoft according to real employee reviews?

"They provide great benefits and you get a lot of exposure if interested in full time corporate role" ((in 6246 reviews)); "Work/Life balance is good and entirely up to you make it what you want it to be" ((in 5416 reviews)); "Some really great people working in the Inside sales teams and the building is fantastic." ((in 4293 reviews)); "Office had a lot of talented folks when I left in 2023 and a great culture." ((in 4043 reviews)); "A lot of the work is driven by individual performance within a team environment and the pay is good." ((in 2118 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Microsoft according to real employee reviews?

"Bad managers abound and there is not much remedy for that except for leaving the job." ((in 1458 reviews)); "life balance in hardware due to frequent unplanned work travel and evening calls; bloated meetings; some poor management" ((in 1189 reviews)); "Frequent layoffs and zero job security regardless of your performance" ((in 775 reviews)); "Long hours you have to wait till the last customer leave it’s energy consuming some of the customers are unrespectful" ((in 478 reviews)); "Senior Leadership on their own mission for career advancement and have little time or concern for the core workforce." ((in 456 reviews))

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Microsoft

Microsoft Software Development Engineer reviews

4.1

74% would recommend to a friend

(825 total reviews)

Satya Nadella

57% approve of CEO

60% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

4.4

Diversity & inclusion

4.3

Culture & values

4.2

Work/Life balance

4.0

Career opportunities

3.6

Senior management

3.5

Compensation and benefits

Software Development Engineer, employees have rated Microsoft with 4.1 out of 5 stars, based on 825 company reviews on Glassdoor. This indicates that most Software Development Engineer, professionals have an excellent working experience there. Microsoft is rated in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) by Software Development Engineer, professionals compared to other employers within the Informationstechnologie industry (3.9 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

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Reviews by job title

825 reviews

5.0

Nov 3, 2009

Great place to work unless you have a bad manager

Software development engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Super medical benefits Chance to move to different group after a couple of years. If you work in Redmond this benefit is very very attractive. Lot of smart people You will get your own private office room (you need to wait 1-3 years sometimes). I was lucky to my own office after 6 months and having that privacy was great for focus.

Cons

Bad manager can ruin you. In my case, my manager in the second group was over-demanding and it made life difficult. Bureaucracy can be a damper, depending on your group.

3.0

Oct 31, 2009

Why working at MS?

Software development engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Lots of cool technologies. Many leading products are developed at MS. Some teams value innovation, security and quality, but not all.

Cons

Crowded place, can get easily lost there. Incompetent managers. Review system sucks big time. The work place can get very unfriendly because every because everybody fights for good reviews

4.0

Oct 25, 2009

Awesome or Awful depending on what you are looking for!

Software development engineer

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Microsoft varies immensely from division to division. The core divisions (like Windows, Office, etc) each hire thousands of engineers. You will spend all your time working on some tiny aspect of one big, great product. If you are cool with that, and cool with the idea that ten years from now you'll be doing very similar work for just a little more money than what you now make, Microsoft can be great for you. It is a comfortable big company with good pay. You'll have decent work-life balance most of the time (again that can vary from group to group).

Cons

As an SDE at Microsoft, above average smarts are not really going to take you anywhere. You might end up in a group doing something cool and cutting edge, but your career trajectory and compensation are going to be the same as folks in some mediocre group elsewhere in the company. That can kill motivation over time. Microsoft has become too big and unlike the 90s it is no longer the most preferred tech employer. They no longer get the "best and the brightest". They hire way more SDETs and PMs than they need.

Viewing 766 - 768 of 825 Reviews

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Microsoft Software Development Engineer reviews

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Great place to work unless you have a bad manager

Why working at MS?

Awesome or Awful depending on what you are looking for!

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