Microsoft

Pay is very good; they did not "low ball" me when they made my initial offer.

Depending on which team you work in, there is room for advancement.

There's an excellent chance to collaborate once you learn the structure of the division and teams in the company.

Some of the brightest people I've ever met work or have worked there. One can learn a lot from these individuals.

Any division that has been around for more than a decade typically will be stagnant in management from the Director level and above.

Monopolistic perspective creates a very protectionist culture, which has led to some amount of stagnation and disregard for user experiences in the consumer marketplace.

Tendency to use customers as "testers," assuming they can quickly get feedback and make adjustments, which is not always the case.

Does not particularly value "the creative" perspective; this is a business company.

Quick to take up new projects, but also very quick to end them (and their teams). If it's not bleeding edge, it's practically ignored, e.g., XBOX 360 innovation and support is practically non-existent.

The customer should always come first. So many bad customer experiences are why it is difficult to break into the consumer space, and why the reputation is poor for many products.

There's a real tendency to treat people as commodities that can be disposed of and treated like physical assets.