Why should I start my career at Microsoft, rather than a startup?

This "Kevin" is probably some HR figure, posting on MicrosoftCareers.com. His response was an one-sided, canned response.

And Derrick is someone who started his career at Microsoft, left the company, and went to work on a startup. According to his website, he's not proud enough about it to announce that he worked at Microsoft, but he's happy to bash some content on Microsoft's jobs website.

The two sides have clear bias, except that the former (Kevin) has made his associations clear, and the latter has not. It's hard to take someone seriously when they purposefully hide their past associations that puts a strong bias on an opinion piece.

If OP really was just communicating to "Kevin", then maybe instead of making a blog post, he should just follow up directly with Kevin, instead of whining on a public blog and twisting his words by snipping off a large part of Kevin's response with ellipsis.

Svbtle really needs to die off, especially with these kind of lame posts that pander to startup circlejerk. As soon I see the Svbtle logo I close my browser tab because it's going to be inane crap like this.

P.S. The "cool" projects at Microsoft are the ones that take place in the air-conditioned buildings. Not that you'll need it, since it's rainy and cold 24/7. Enjoy!

I've spent some time at Microsoft, and have only good things to say about my experience.

My qualm isn't with the company, but rather, the content, approach and flippant tone of Kevin's post. Having previously worked there, that's not something I'd expect from the company, which is disappointing.

(cross posted this back to http://blog.derrickko.com/microsoft-and-startups)

Microsoft is an excellent company to start your career at if you have a limited educational background and little which distinguishes yourself, but you are willing to put in the work to overcome this.

Salary and pay for graduates from tier 1 schools is higher across the board for new graduates. But with 1-2 years at Microsoft, many recruiters and businessmen will put you on par with anyone else in the industry of similar education and background. Microsoft is a chance to replace your local liberal arts school CS degree beneath a solid pedigree.

Also, during those 1-2 years you will be given a great education in the industry. In my experience, Microsoft provides plenty of interesting problems and it also provides its new hires with the time to solve them. If have gaps in your education, the people at Microsoft will provide you the chance to fill them. A startup will provide a more feet to the fire experience, which may not be compatible with your disposition.

Finally, Microsoft provides you safe entrance into the industry. If you have a family, if you are writing on the side, if you are unsure that you've chosen the right path Microsoft will provide you a solid paycheck and free relocation. A startup will provide very little free time in comparison.