Microsoft reviews

Over 8 years at Microsoft, I was happy to accept that the unstated deal is that MS employees get slower career progression and lower pay than they would at equivalent positions elsewhere, in exchange for a more stable work environment - less risk of layoffs, etc. That deal is out the window at this point - the layoff risk is now as high as anywhere else, but career progression and salary haven't risen to match. The culture has deteriorated as large layoffs have become an ongoing problem, in part because the layoffs frequently feel short-sighted: eg, half of my team was RIF'd in July - including almost everyone who actively wanted to work in the office - shortly before the RTO directive came through. So now they no longer have people who want to work in the office, and instead they're forcing all the people who preferred remote work to start coming in again - many of whom are already looking at exit strategies. I'd really only recommend a position at Microsoft if you have a short- or medium-term plan to boomerang back out, or if you're looking to get a foot in the door at a big tech or games company.

Company culture is in the garbage can. I've seen it progressively get worse with each year. Not every program is as exposed to it as others, but it makes for poor work life balance and unfair responsibility sharing. Not a good place for career growth in my opinion as it heavily depends on what kind of a manager you end up with regardless of how much work, the quality of the work, or how important you are to a program. Doesn't matter if the management chain doesn't stick up for you.