How's working at Microsoft w. a family post-Nadella?

Amazon
DjsbEi3z

Go to company page Amazon

DjsbEi3z
Jun 16, 2018 17 Comments

I'm a 7 year Amazonian contemplating a move to Microsoft for three primary reasons: better benefits & work-life balance without a total comp hit. My current organization has a reputation for not being a place where you can have a family and a successful career, but that feels true for most of Amazon. My team has been hemorrhaging good performers to Google and MSFT for the last 12 months, mostly to Cloud Platform and Azure, and they're trying to convince me to join them. The perks at Google are nice, but not important and designed to keep you at work as long as possible. I have an infant and a wife that also works full-time, so I'm not really considering Google.

(Note: Not interested in hearing from jaded MSFT lifers, or former MSFTies who left before the stack-ranking annual review process changed. Your opinions are valid, but probably not helpful.)

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TOP 17 Comments
  • Amazon / Eng
    You have a

    Go to company page Amazon Eng

    You have a
    What role/level are you? You might be able to find a role internally that has better WLB. We have 3 SDEs on paternity leave right now.
    Jun 16, 2018 4
    • Amazon / Eng
      Hooliganss

      Go to company page Amazon Eng

      BIO
      AWS
      Hooliganss
      ^^ not from what I’ve seen. Paternity and maternity leaves are celebrated by the teams I’ve been on, and they most certainly weren’t fired when they got back. Granted amazon is not a “rest and vest” kind of environment; you do actually have to do something to justify your 200+ salary, but it’s not like anything I’ve heard regarding pre-NYT.

      Amazon does employ a handful of people, so obviously your mileage may vary (like any large company).
      Jun 16, 2018
    • Amazon / Eng
      You have a

      Go to company page Amazon Eng

      You have a
      There are weaker SDEs on my team who will more likely be PIP’d than the ones on leave.

      I do hate the cut throat aspect of amazon and can’t blame you if you want to leave that behind. I hate knowing that me being successful means someone I work with everyday is getting fired.
      Jun 16, 2018
  • Amazon / Eng
    Hooliganss

    Go to company page Amazon Eng

    BIO
    AWS
    Hooliganss
    “Not interested in hearing from jaded MSFT lifers, or former MSFTies who left before the stack-ranking annual review process changed. “

    This reads like you’re interested solely in positive experiences. Probably not the best approach.
    Jun 16, 2018 3
  • This comment was deleted by original commenter.

  • I’m not a jaded employee but there is no WLB in Azure. Not sure where you got that from. If anything GCP has that
    Jun 16, 2018 2
  • What is your level and what level are you looking at in Microsoft? Levels matter a lot on WLB.
    Jun 16, 2018 1