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What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

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Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#41

Post by kerng »

danmaz74 wrote: post #38
kerng wrote: post #27

I'm not sure what to make of this post. 3.5 years of which 2 years or so are in dedicated program to rotate jobs across the world seems like an amazing deal to kick off a career many would dream of. Not much responsibility but a lot to learn and observe! More objectively reflecting ones own performance and actions might good to understand reasons for what happened. This is business and work, not family and friends. I…

The point IMHO was that this business and work swallowed up all time from family and friendships.

If one chooses a career that requires travel or is in a foreign country altogether while your family & life long friends are at home - maybe the initial decision to accept the job is to blame and not the job or the company? In my experience finding close friends later in life is more difficult compared to childhood, teenage and college years.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#42

Post by malingo »

Waterluvian wrote: post #39
shshhdhs wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s great to hear! What changes did you make?

Found a job where I can work from home. Developed a healthy but firm relationship with my employer that I shall not be available outside office hours. Hacked away at slack to permanently disable notifications and never show the blue distraction dot. Developed an expectation among the team about my responsiveness via slack or email. Unlearned from my previous job: installing any work related software on my phone. Adop…

Glad to hear I'm not the only one who hacks out the blue distraction dot. Every time slack upgrades itself it comes back and I remove it posthaste.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#43

Post by yuy910616 »

devinmcafee wrote: post #11

I think many young people in tech learn this lesson the hard way. They get excited with all the free food, laundry services, and events that tech jobs offer. They end up spending all of their waking hours at work and work becomes an identity. Then one day something changes and they realize they spent the last N years of their life at work, not building real lasting relationships, pursuing hobbies, dating, etc. It tru…

I think a lot of people learn this the hard way, yes. But I kinda don't see what is wrong with this. Having work life balance is somewhat of a luxury, and it's a luxury to be able to say "money doesn't make me happy". It's a luxury to come to that conclusion.

How do you arrive at that conclusion without going through the ringer first?

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#44

Post by lupire »

devinmcafee wrote: post #11

I think many young people in tech learn this lesson the hard way. They get excited with all the free food, laundry services, and events that tech jobs offer. They end up spending all of their waking hours at work and work becomes an identity. Then one day something changes and they realize they spent the last N years of their life at work, not building real lasting relationships, pursuing hobbies, dating, etc. It tru…

This sad story is common but usually happens to people who weren't going to build a life anyway, who'd be home on the computer in their free time instead of getting paid to do something profitable with it.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#45

Post by burtonator »

devinmcafee wrote: post #11

I think many young people in tech learn this lesson the hard way. They get excited with all the free food, laundry services, and events that tech jobs offer. They end up spending all of their waking hours at work and work becomes an identity. Then one day something changes and they realize they spent the last N years of their life at work, not building real lasting relationships, pursuing hobbies, dating, etc. It tru…

It's a cult and they deliberately want to make it a cult.

This is one of the reasons they provide free food, corporate vacations, team building exercises, etc.

They want you completely dedicated.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#46

Post by Truth2019 »

cbsks wrote: post #23
ljiljana wrote: post #15

> A few guys working both for Microsoft and Partners were treating me like a cute puppy or telling me they wanted to have sex with me while drunk, but all of it seemed minor and acceptable — I was getting so much in return. jesus, how is this minor and acceptable? i'm a woman in engineering and I can not even imagine having to deal with something like this. Is it that Marketing is that much different? Or am I just lu…

I’m a man and don’t have direct experience with this, but a few female friends, my wife, and both of my younger sisters have had unwanted sexual experiences at work. It was a sobering moment when I realized this. I’ve been in the tech industry for over 10 years and I don’t think that anything similar has happened to any of the people I have worked with, but honestly, I have no idea. I’m not sure if I’m oblivious or j…

Mixed signals produce mixed results.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#47

Post by lawnchair_larry »

ljiljana wrote: post #15

> A few guys working both for Microsoft and Partners were treating me like a cute puppy or telling me they wanted to have sex with me while drunk, but all of it seemed minor and acceptable — I was getting so much in return. jesus, how is this minor and acceptable? i'm a woman in engineering and I can not even imagine having to deal with something like this. Is it that Marketing is that much different? Or am I just lu…

It’s definitely much more common in sales/marketing. It goes both ways though. As she says, there is a lot of consensual hooking up. Any environment where a significant portion of the folks are willing and reciprocal is going to lead to people testing the waters, so to speak. Especially if you’re getting drunk together.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#48

Post by FlorianRappl »

pinewurst wrote: post #37
PorterDuff wrote: post #12

Lots of fuss and fury about what is basically just another large company. They're not your friends and never will be. Dunno why there's so much surprise here, I guess it's just another youngster hitting the immovable object of the working world. A friend of mine who went and got a job at Microsoft (a rarity in my circle, they don't seem to be heavyweights in the graphics or video world) and made a smart move. His dea…

The Microsoft interview experience remains awful, Satya or not. I’ve tried a few times but with one exception I was treated like dirt every time by recruiters and interviewers. (Edit) One interviewer blew cigarette smoke in my face, for example. That’s not to say that there aren’t plenty of decent people there.

I interviewed with most of the "tech giants" and Microsoft's process was by far the best (professional and down-to-earth). Maybe this was due to the target (language team), maybe due to the location (Redmond), but at least with me they left a great impression.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#49

Post by scarface74 »

kerng wrote: post #32

What I would recommend to everyone in their 20s is to get a mentor who has been in the workforce for 30-40+ years. You will learn and hear invaluable stories on how companies treat employees, how firing works, how being fired is and generally just meaningful information that will put your own present misery into perspective and prepare you for the things to come.

I’ve been in the workforce over 20 years, and I can barely relate to someone just starting out:

- I have no idea what is expected from a junior developer starting out in the workplace. I was self taught before going to college and my first job I was the sole developer writing a decently complicated networked data entry system. What should I expect the typical junior developer to know? I’ve only worked at companies who don’t hire junior developers.

- If someone’s dreams and aspirations are to “work for Big N” (the stereotypical r/cscareerquestions poster), what do I know? I’ve never studied leetCode/“Cracking the Code” in my life and don’t plan to.

- I’m not sure someone who has been in the industry 30-40 years will be able to relate to someone just starting off. Things are different now. Things are different from when I first started. Technology was just another decent paying, middle class career field when I entered it.

Someone in the industry 30-40 years is probably a company man and still believes in company loyalty.

Re: What I gained, lost and learned while working for Microsoft

#50

Post by cleandreams »

kerng wrote: post #30
syntaxing wrote: post #29

I always thought Microsoft was one of the tech companies with the best work life balance. Is this not the case? Is it because of the gender disparity/sexism? Can any share some insight how it's to work for MS in Mountain View? Is it a bad idea for someone starting a family?

Microsoft is probably one of the best options you can pick if you want to have great WLB but still do worldwide impactful work - and majority of teams have good culture and are fun. At least that's the vibe I get from friends that work there.

I got a job at Microsoft through acquisition (not located in Redmond) and I gotta say, I am kinda loving it. Very challenging and good tools. Happy to be here. I think the Satya era is an improvement, from what I hear. To me they seem pretty serious about being a good environment for women.
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