Pros: The company has many divisions, large facilities, and all means for employees to fulfill themselves and make a great business impact through technology. Salaries are good, facilities are top-notch, and there are many activities encouraging creative thinking. I believe that career opportunities should be great, but it really depends on how supportive the direct manager is.

Cons: Nothing is like what was offered prior to signup. There isn't any governance regarding promotions, bonuses, rewards, etc. Whoever is close to the direct management benefits from all Microsoft has to offer, regardless of their impact, technical skills, or efforts. Very often, managers make things very personal. They give the employee the minimum possible under the terms of Microsoft, while taking advantage of many ambiguities to their favor. Paternity leave and annual vacation days are a must. However, they will justify the demand from an employee to keep working while on vacation by "Critical urgent needs." This enforces employees to cancel already ordered vacations, a day or two before the set date, leaving the employee to bear the costs, while other employees are prioritized and are allowed to have long vacations over the same period of time. No clear pathway for career development and promotions. Managers will interpret level advancement criteria from their perspective, just in order to prevent certain employees from advancing their careers. Likewise, they provide false negative feedback with made-up failures to sabotage the employee's chances of changing roles in the organization, leaving the employee the only option of leaving. Needless to say, none of the pledges are ever fulfilled, always with "perfect" pretexts.

Pros: Work-life balance at Microsoft is very good.

Cons: Total compensation is low compared to other giants.

Pros: Microsoft is a good company, with good work-life balance. Benefits are good. They provide free food and drink, and there are chances to grow.

Cons: Company politics. Sometimes they point fingers at each other.