Pros
Superficially good culture Some really great coworkers Microsoft equity Free food/snacks
Cons
It's an old boys club. Promotions are handed out based on where you want to grad school or how you know decision makers from outside of work. If you're not in the old boys club, then strong performance does not get rewarded. Getting an 'exceeds expectations' performance review has no bearing on your promotion timeline - because if you're not in the old boys club then you're not getting promoted no matter how strong your case for promotion is - even when the promotion has been promised. Conversely, if you are in the old boys club (which is limited to white men), promotions land in your lap after a few months on the job even though the entire org is convinced that you're undeserving. Ultimately, senior leaders are only to serve themselves. They'll grab territory to make themselves seem important. And throw a few crumbs on junior staff (e.g. free snacks, half-yearly happy hours) to make them happy. Culture is superficially nice. But scratch beneath the surface and it's the same rotten culture as any other non-tech org. It's a frat house masquerading as a tech firm. Avoid at all costs.
