Need help in understanding MSFT culture in Azure
Hi, I joined MSFT about a month ago and since I joined I see a huge difference in culture in my previous company and the current team I am in. In my previous company if there was any work assigned there used to accountability and also it was understood that if it's a new thing for the engineer it could take some time and would account for that in sprint planning they were also considerate about the fact that there can be slips some time. Here in my current team at MSFT I feel that the work assignment is done considering that engineers are available outside of working hours. If there is some issue that is going on, then that is understandable but for regular dev and planning, the deadlines are too aggressive and there is always a push from management. I have seen some team members online even during the night time. I wanted to know if that is specific to my team is it something that most of azure have. Or is it just me bickering not fully aware that this is how the big tech works 😅. Do I need to reset my expectations and accept the current lifestyle ? Since I joined it's been managing one fire after another. And my manager acts like that is expected of all the engineers. YOE 3 TC 160K #microsoft #swe
I guess these things are team specific. I'm also Azure and feeling pressure and tight deadlines very rarely. I would say you should bring these things up when you are having 1-1s.
"managing one fire after another" is a way of life with services. "work assignment is done considering that engineers are available outside of working hours" varies by team, though work spilling over from one iteration to the next is also common. Either way don't burn yourself out, it won't be rewarded, you'll only be chastised for not taking care of mental health.
I transferred to Azure after working in another org for a couple of years and this was my initial impression too. The WLB seemed terrible and the managers always seem to be online. Honestly took me a while to realize that no one understands how anything works besides the one component/microservice they work on, and you aren’t expected to have answers to everything. Also, don’t feel pressured to work overtime, that is just the culture and managers assume you will work overtime for free.
That's how big tech works actually.
I’m in the same boat as you. Stick to the boundaries you establish with your work. Nobody will remember the extra hours you worked 5 years down the line, but your body will hold on to all the extra stress you’re taking and it will affect you for years. Simply not worth it.
For that TC, you should be given a break.
to be clear, your TC is fine (it’s more than what I had at your YOE). But stretching isn’t justified in my opinion at that TC. There are lot of teams at Microsoft with good WLB and culture.