Pros: Stability. Microsoft isn't going anywhere for a quite a while, and as long as you don't totally screw up, if they do close down your division or restructure, they are good about placing you somewhere else within the company. Working conditions are generally good. It's really hard to get fired from Microsoft, which is great for the employee.

Cons: Microsoft is made up of so much bureaucracy and red tape that it's difficult to really feel like you make a difference until you're higher up the chain. There are so many layers of management and so many silos that it's very difficult to get anything beyond trivial tasks done in a decent length of time. This leads to huge investments of time and money that probably aren't truly necessary.

Pros: Amazing benefits, great work-life balance, continuous improvement of skills. If you want to be lazy, you can and you will get lazy rewards. If you want to be super active, you can be and also get super good rewards.

Cons: Not everyone on your team might have ownership and commitment to the projects, so you might sometimes take on more work.

Pros: The benefits package cannot be beat. If you are risk-averse but still talented, it's a perfect opportunity for you. If you have an iota of entrepreneurial spirit, go elsewhere.

Cons: Many, if not most people you work with and meet, have only ever worked at one company: MICROSOFT. They believe that the Microsoft way is the ONLY way. They don't care to hear alternatives. Your mileage varies depending on who you report to. If you're reporting to someone solid, you can have a great experience and be positive that Microsoft is a FANTASTIC place, be promoted every 18 months, and think anyone who speaks negatively about Microsoft is nuts. If you're working for a poor manager, you'll encounter cronyism, politics, promotions that have no correlation to merit, and difficulty figuring out where your future at the company is, if any. Be prepared to be assigned to projects that don't make a lot of sense, but are pets to high-ranking execs.