In 8 months at Microsoft, I learned these things

Post by gohrt » Wed, Jun 12, 2013, 8:45 PM UTC

sidww2 wrote: post #87

jedanbik wrote: post #26

I wish I could say things were better on the academic end of scientific computing. Expect no documentation in corporations. --> Expect no documentation in research code. It is not what you do, it is what you sell. --> It is not what you do, it is what you publish. Not everybody is passionate for engineering. --> It is not what you do, it is what you publish. 2-3 hours of coding a day is great. --> It is not what you…

To be fair, the job of the academia is to do research. Coding is just a means to an end. If on the other hand, you're distributing your code or it's intended as an ongoing project, then good comments and architecture are important (Disclaimer: I'm a PhD student).

Post by andrewflnr » Wed, Jun 12, 2013, 8:46 PM UTC

coldtea wrote: post #124

venomsnake wrote: post #19

Publishing something that HR/PR can consider slander under your real name while being junior developer is not a recipe for stable employment. These guys tend to freak out over minor stuff like that. Lets hope it does not have negative consequences. Otherwise familiar - these companies are like supertankers - move slowly and few people are empowered to make meaningful decisions and contributions. Worked for a few year…

> Publishing something that HR/PR can consider slander under your real name while being junior developer is not a recipe for stable employment. These guys tend to freak out over minor stuff like that. That's to me the equivalent of saying: "sitting on the front of the bus, as a black person, is a recipe for trouble". Not in the sense that it's racist, of course. But that it trivialises a problematic situation, and as…

Post by marssaxman » Wed, Jun 12, 2013, 8:47 PM UTC

scld wrote: post #90

ngoel36 wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent two summers interning as a Program Manager at Microsoft (Xbox and Office), and his statements are nearly 100% accurate: - Literally any piece of documentation was always 1+ years out of date. Setting up a dev environment could take days when it should have only taken hours. - A lot of my coworkers were over 35. Starkly different from my experience later at Google. Working past 6 was considered absurd, and a l…

Well, honestly, working past 6 all the time should be considered absurd (assuming you are arriving at work between 7 and 8). I understand the benefit of hard work but I see too much youth wasted on free labor given to corporations.

Post by jkbyc » Wed, Jun 12, 2013, 8:52 PM UTC

spiderPig wrote: post #107

papercruncher wrote: post #27

I spent 5 years at Microsoft as a dev and share almost none of the author's sentiments. I had very few meetings, my manager went out of his way to make sure that I was not blocked, code reviews were mandatory, blogging on technical aspects was ok, had ample free time to work on any side project I wanted (even encouraged to work with MSR on things that were more researchy), etc etc... I could go on for a while. Sure,…

Also, worthwhile to note that this guy is an SDET and not an SDE at Microsoft. VAST difference in quality between the two disciplines.

Post by pixelmonkey » Wed, Jun 12, 2013, 8:56 PM UTC

vowelless wrote: post #6

He sounds like someone who is significantly lowering his standards. Seems like working at a big corporation is killing his spirit and energy. That is just sad. Edit: Unless he is being sarcastic?

  Working at the bank was a huge change from the rest
  of my life. The primary focus of my job became my
  paycheck. Technology decisions were made for me, by
  external committees. I was expected to follow all sorts
  of processes and procedures. I was expected to become 
  a conventional programmer. I found myself building
  products that had an unclear end-user.
  
  I did learn things there, too. I learned what it was 
  like to work with engineers on a daily basis. I learned
  a lot from my managers and colleagues, many of whom were
  just astoundingly intelligent individuals. I learned how
  big companies operated. But mostly, I learned a lot about
  myself.

  I learned that work meant more to me than a paycheck. 
  Work should be about solving problems, helping people, 
  and creating enduring value. Money is important, but 
  it wasn't what attracted me to technology in the first
  place. And that's why I knew I had to leave that firm.