I’ve got to get the fuck out of Microsoft. My duties, my team’s direction, the bureaucracy, the crappy products, the old developers who refuse to see anything as needing improvement, all make me want to run. I’m in my mid 30s and don’t want to waste my life like this. I still have a couple of months of interview prep. But the sense of urgency to leave before I fossilize at Microsoft makes me want to take the first offer I get. Is it a terrible idea to go somewhere/anywhere, probably a startup, for a few months while I crank out more interview prep? At this point I don’t much care what a startup thinks about me leaving three months after I start. And I’m in right-to-work state.
You won't be able to prepare in initial few days while working at the startup. So flush that thought. Create a schedule for interview prep once you've couple of good offers, gtfo.
Go on a vacation. Evaluate your financial commitments. Plan your next step. Microsoft does this to best of the folks. So, use this as a learning experience.
Don’t dick a startup like that. Stick it to Microsoft instead - prep while they pay you full time. Do minimal work. It’ll take them way longer than 3 months to fire you. Make the bureaucracy work in your favor for once.
Work just hard enough so your boss is satisfied, and study your ass off. Study at work, nights, and weekends. Use your dislike of msft as a fuel to motivate you to get out of there. Try to get interviews at places you don’t like first, to get experience at interviewing again. Once you feel good, get out there and get the places you want to move to.
Don't be an ass, it's a big cost for limited resources startups if you leave after 3 months. Also why don't you change teams within microsoft?
I hate all of the Microsoft products and from what I see, most teams operate similarly to mine. And if I’m going to prep for internal interviews, might as well prep for external ones with companies that are functioning in modern times.
Would you care sharing why you hate msft and all its products? I just joined ai&r org and your experience might be useful to me. You can dm me :-)
What have you been doing until now? Looks like quite a buildup of frustration
I’ve talked to the manager and he chalks it up to the Microsoft higher ups. We’ve already had a couple engineers leave because they felt stifled. We’re expected to be go-getters but there really isn’t enough work and we are prevented from starting any projects that aren’t heavily vetted and approved by management. Our manager is gone dealing with his managers most of the time. Our development experience is godawful to the point of a tiny change being a days long headache. When we mention it, management is so far removed that they’re shocked (and again say it’s a Microsoft thing and we have to deal with it). I like my teammates but I think we’re all kind of over it and staying because of inertia.
I would say get thick skinned and prepare full time being on Microsoft payroll. Don't leave until people raise serious questions.