Pros: Lots of smart people working around you.

Cons: Lots of smart people who want to leave MS.

Pros: Microsoft is an iconic name that still attracts young professionals. It looks good on a resume. Other companies know if you can manage the work/life balance at this company, then you are no slacker. Pay is good for entry-level, but for industry hires, look elsewhere. Smart people who are experts in what they do.

Cons: I can write many things here: * Highly political company that rewards people that can play the game * Send a bunch of emails --> This shows you are working according to managers * Suck up to your manager --> This is how people are getting promoted * Do less of what is assigned to you and more of useless tools to have "impact" cross teams * Stack ranking system with forced curve * Even if you have a team full of rock star engineers, 1 or 2 will be getting a rating of 4, 5. * This system forces competition among peers rather than collaboration. * Even if you work very hard to improve the feature/quality, you are not rewarded because it's "expected". While someone else can work 9-5 and do a silly script to automate stuff, they are valued. * Far too many program managers * These people don't contribute less than a quarter of what engineers (SDE/SDET) do. * Great talented people that are forced into this role to do data entry. Overall: Microsoft looks very good from the outside; however, it's a contrast when you are inside.

Pros: Excellent cafeterias! Geniuses abound, or so the spin doctors say.

Cons: Rank and yank destroys the culture. This is a class-based culture, folks. Never forget it. As a contractor, I was untouchable. This seems to have been adopted due to Gates' love of all things subcontinental. But unlike our friends over the waves, they don't expel their untermensch every year.