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Under no circumstances would I work here again, and I regret the years I put in

Software Development Engineer
Current Employee
Has worked at Microsoft for 6 years
September 23, 2014
Redmond, Washington
1.0
Doesn't RecommendNeutral OutlookNo CEO Opinion
Pros

Decent compensation packages, although very little room for negotiation. Intelligent teammates. Nice lateral movement across teams with minimal wait time (18 months or less, with manager approval). There are some teams that still have private offices, although for most products, the open office model might be better.

401K match up to 6% of salary. Health Club.

Cons

The politics at Microsoft are cutthroat, and the performance review model, based on a graded curve, is archaic and contraindicated for software development, which thrives on collaboration and cooperation.

While this ranking system is supposed to have been abolished recently, after 30+ years of its extreme influence on management promotion and leadership reviews, it is unlikely that this atmosphere of a zero-sum compensation model (there is no winner without a loser) is anything less than entrenched. Consequently, Microsoft would not be a place to risk years of one's career when there are just as attractive jobs waiting at companies that were of the 'you win, we all win' philosophy from inception.

Advice to Management

Do something drastic. For years, the opportunities for advancement (or even keeping the status quo) have been limited to one's manager, who was not only fallible but also, like all humans, capable of pettiness, prejudice, and prejudgments. To imagine otherwise is to be outrageously arrogant, something Microsofties have been accused of so frequently as to make it almost a byword for the company itself.

Shed the image by shedding the management personnel who have been heavily promoted under the system of pushing oneself forward by throwing others under the bus. And enough with the arrogance already.

Buy a latte, sign up on GitHub, and join the software revolution. It's lapped you a few times, and it's getting ready to do it again.

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