This used to be a fun place to work - Premier Field Engineer Microsoft Employee Review

2.0
28 Oct 2013
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

I had the opportunity to work with some of the smartest people in the world. The pay and benefits are still pretty good, although it looks like that's changing.

Cons

Management. Anyone with any scruples got out of management shortly after the "stack" ranking was implemented. Those who are left would as soon stab you in the back as look at you. They look out for their buddies, and anyone else has a target on their back and is fair game for the "bottom 5%". This used to be a fun place to work. Don't get me wrong, it's definitely a tough job and you have to know your sh*t. But, there used to be social events, beer Fridays, pizza, free t-shirts and other assorted swag, etc. All of that is gone, and people spend the majority of their time just trying to make sure they don't get "bottom boxed". It's all about who you know and how you present yourself these days, and all the "fun" has been stripped away. The culture nowadays is literally toxic, and people spend far more time worrying about the review model than actually being able to do their job. The company isn't at all cutting edge anymore and is so wrapped up with red tape that its nearly impossible to get anything done.

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5.0
27 June 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

good work life balance, culture and career growth

Cons

less compatitive salary compare to other big company

4.0
28 Jan 2013
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

1. If you love tech, this is a great place. No doubt you'll talk tech (mostly the MSFT stack) from enterprise to consumer - from PCs to phones to Xboxes - from datacenter to desktop. 2. What were GREAT benefits are now VERY GOOD (took a small step down) but still probably better than you'll find at 99% of large corporations. If you've got family - the value of the benefits is even higher. 401k match is nice. 3. Even with it's struggles MSFT is still a cash printing machine. This means if you can keep your nose clean and do reasonable work, you can have a stable job, pay your bills, feed your family, and not worry (too much) about layoffs. The stock you own likely won't tank, but probably won't go up much either. You'll get a bonus each year and some stock. It's a decent life if you aren't looking to light the world on fire.

Cons

Brand on Your Resume: After many years of losing market share and struggling to be at the front end of innovation and the fact that there's 90,000 employees, don't think MSFT is necessarily going to be attractive on your resume to more agile and smaller companies. Managing Your Career: Make you say this out loud so it registers - 90,000 employees work there. Double that for vendors. It is VERY hard to "stand out" and move up in the company. Don't expect your manager to be much of an advocate or enabler to help you meet your career goals - they are basically trying to survive the stack rank every year too. Not familiar with the stack rank? Check out the 2012 Vanity Fair article called "Microsoft's Lost Decade".

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