Pros: Okay pay and benefits. Can be interesting work.

Cons: Doesn’t care about employees. You are there to make the executives and shareholders money. Loyalty to the company means nothing. If I had to do over again, I would only work here a couple of years before searching for some place better.

Pros: Good benefits and work-life balance.

Cons: Low pay scale, political culture in some teams.

Pros: Microsoft is an amazingly supportive place to work. They are constantly learning, constantly bettering themselves, and constantly delivering immense value for their customers. Culturally and technically, they’ve come a long way under Satya’s leadership and have truly become one of the best places to work for technologists if top salary/compensation is not a top concern.

Cons: The salary and bonus levels have always been “middle of the road” compared to their peers like Google, Facebook, and Amazon. It’s not uncommon to hear of friends getting what feels like jaw-dropping signing bonuses and base salaries, and to then feel one’s loyalty is un- or under-appreciated. Those who have been there a long time may also discover the salaries of new hires are often “biting at their heels.” It’s seldom rewarding to realize that kid who just joined straight out of college is making ~70% of the same base pay as someone who has given 15-20 years to the company. In short, work here for the love of innovating technology with legends in the field, amazing people, building awesome products and solutions, and great benefits — not because you want to win a salary measuring contest.