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The Dream Company

Software Engineer II
Current Employee
Has worked at Microsoft for 4 years
January 7, 2021
Oslo, Norway
5.0
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEO
Pros

When I came to work for Microsoft over 3 years ago, I thought it was my dream company, and 3 years later the company lives up to my expectations entirely!

The biggest pros of working here from my perspective are:

  • Extremely professional yet relaxed environment
  • Huge impact of job you do (user base of 1 million is an "emerging product", we think in 10s and 100s of millions)
  • Good and consistent work-life balance (especially in Norway: time with family is YOUR time, and it is protected very well...)
  • Great handling of WFH during covid
  • People rarely leave and only do so with a very good reason and normally after staying in the company for many years, so it is safe to make friends (if you've been to startups, you might know what I mean! )
Cons
  1. Career growth may be perceived as slow (it does not get any faster than one promotion per year, and for most it is one promotion per 1.5 years).
  2. Salaries are not insanely high (we're slightly above market in Oslo, but the job we do is way above market in Oslo).
  3. Things may be perceived as generally slow (well, we're over 150,000 people at the moment of writing, after all).

Still, none of these cons could make me drop a star. I have been having a great time since day 1 and will likely keep doing so for many years to come.

Advice to Management

Please consider reindexing salaries for everyone in Norway, approximately 5% up.

Additional Ratings

Work/Life Balance
5.0
Culture and Values
5.0
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
5.0
Career Opportunities
5.0
Compensation and Benefits
4.0
Senior Management
4.0

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