Pros: This is a place where you can literally find a huge range of products to work on: devices, enterprise software, web services, automotive, and of course Windows/Office. Lots of smart people who are very passionate and motivated, with high energy. A great place to learn. Benefits are great, especially the health benefits.

Cons: The company is now very big. If you're at a junior level, there's a good chance you'll drown in the crowd, or the competition will be intense. Managers have a lot of power over their directs. If your manager likes you, good things happen to you. If not, bad things happen to you.

Pros: The technical people here are exceptional. I've worked with leaders and pioneers in my field much earlier in my career than I could have hoped to. I also like the breadth of products that Microsoft builds, so the freedom to move from product to product as my career grows is valuable to me. My coworkers across the company are also a great resource. I've learned a lot about several Microsoft products in great depth thanks to help from my coworkers. The perks are also great: * Free health care * A great gym membership * Lots of paid time off * And of course living in the Pacific Northwest.

Cons: The work-life balance is totally random. Some weeks/months I'll be able to do whatever I want, but some months I'll work 80+ hour weeks a few weeks in a row. Management attempts to fix this, but I've seen the pattern of poor planning saved by last-minute heroics a few times now. We also have a tendency to get out of touch with reality. Not everyone in the real world has a quad-core computer with 8GB of RAM and fast internet at home, but we get lulled into making that assumption because everyone we know here has all that stuff.

Pros: It is a company where your ideas are valued, and you are helped if you are stuck with some problems. The products they develop are the ones we use in daily life.

Cons: The downside of some of the branches is more work hours, no work-life management, and sometimes teams are not made properly.