Pros: Decent compensation packages, although very little room for negotiation. Intelligent teammates. Nice lateral movement across teams with minimal wait time (18 months or less, with manager approval). There are some teams that still have private offices, although for most products, the open office model might be better. 401K match up to 6% of salary. Health Club.

Cons: The politics at Microsoft are cutthroat, and the performance review model, based on a graded curve, is archaic and contraindicated for software development, which thrives on collaboration and cooperation. While this ranking system is supposed to have been abolished recently, after 30+ years of its extreme influence on management promotion and leadership reviews, it is unlikely that this atmosphere of a zero-sum compensation model (there is no winner without a loser) is anything less than entrenched. Consequently, Microsoft would not be a place to risk years of one's career when there are just as attractive jobs waiting at companies that were of the 'you win, we all win' philosophy from inception.

Pros: Microsoft has a very good work-life balance.

Cons: Compensation may be a little low as compared to other companies from the same band.

Pros: The concentration of smart people here is the primary reason I work here. I don't have to spend hours explaining the technical issues I have to deal with in my work. I also get a lot of guidance from other team members.

Cons: The codebase of some of the projects is huge, as is the number of people working on them. Certain features in certain products might need the involvement of a lot of people, and coordinating and resolving the issues of each of these teams is not trivial.