Pros: Benefits were great, surrounded by knowledgeable people who love their job.

Cons: Very Redmond-centric. It was sometimes difficult to work with Redmond teams on projects. The company is very Redmond-focused. Performance reviews are a pain.

Pros: Nothing good seemed to ever happen at Microsoft IT. Since IT is considered a service division that supports the profit-making business units, most buildings are not even on the main corporate campus. The pros are that you get easier parking. Not a big deal.

Cons: I worked at Microsoft IT for 5 years. It started well with a good manager and ended with two bad managers. Just like other positions at Microsoft, managers matter a lot. I talked to other engineers at product groups like Windows and Office. Their culture seemed to be more engineering and technical focused than playing games and politics. There is politics at every workplace. Microsoft IT seemed to get it the most. My review was heavily affected by if other engineers liked my personality rather than liked my engineering contribution. Who decided that? The ranking system dictated by the managers.

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. The review system sucks big time. The workplace can get very unfriendly because everybody fights for good reviews.