To Microsofties

A similar post changed my life so I am returning it back to the community. As a blind rule, YOE 5, TC 750k. 5 years ago I joined Microsoft right after college. The honeymoon phase passed soon after I received my first year stock refresher: $2700 prorated. My classmates who joined GF all got 10 times more than me. TC was not the worst part of my job, the management and culture on my team was unbelievably bad. I was also "forced" to work 10+ hours a day because the manager would ping or email anyone at night, with no respect to their WLB. I saw some most unprofessional behaviors: threatening to give bad annual reviews, scolding at subordinates, slamming doors, calling others as a waste of their time. My hard work wasnt appreciated or recognized by promotions, because the manager has an inner circle and played favoritism thoroughly. I felt very hopeless because I couldn't easily change jobs due to visa complications. I consulted friends and others, they all told me to change team or change job. There were numerous times I wanted to quit even without an offer. I read many blind posts about how to prepare for interviews and how to negotiate for higher salaries. It did payoff very well. Eventually I had 5 great offers such as FB and Snap, and of course Robinhood. I joined Robinhood with a TC of 400k last year. It more than doubled my Microsoft exit TC. Within a year my TC has now grown to 700k+ due to stock price appreciation. There is even more room to grow after IPO. My current team culture is friendly, and the management cares about its employees. I once questioned myself that I'm not smart enough to get anything better than Microsoft, but here I am. I want to thank blind and everyone who helped me to get out of my miserable life at Microsoft. I also want to help any Microsofties who want to get out for any reason. #tech #microsoft