DISQUS

Susan · 3 months ago

Hah, I found this incredibly interesting!

Name · 3 months ago

I stumbled upon your blog while looking for ways to access Exchange via Linux. I'm currently working at MS. I was involved in OSS before but in this tough economy I needed something to pay the bills, so it's "over to the dark side" as my friends call it.

I work at the main Redmond campus on one of the higher profile projects and I am constantly amazed by the quality of people around me. First, I must clarify the basic organization of MS. There are three main groups of people (there are other less common roles, both technical and non-technical): developers, testers, and program managers. Together they form about 60% of the company (wish it were more) Except at the very top where things converge, the three roles are quite distinct---program managers do not "manage" developers in the sense that devs don't report to PMs directly. Instead, each role has their own hierarchy.

That said, PMs are the least technical of the three. Their skill is in cross group collaboration (and dealing with the requirements of customers, manufacturers, etc). However, there are some who are deeply in tune with technology (the follow the blogs, know software engineering principles), but just never got the hang of programming itself.

The developers and testers are top notch and I am constantly amazed by the intelligence and skill. Not everyone is equally good: some are mediocre and will probably leave after a few years to a company that values them more. The less capable ones who do stay will get promoted, but very slowly (something I consider unfortunate, since they are occupying a valuable position).

The people at the top are extremely capable, possessing both technical skills and people skills even though they may have only been trained as one or the other (i.e., management major or CS major).

For work, we are strongly encouraged to use MS products on the premise that we can then give feedback and file bug reports. But for personal use, there are a lot of people using competitor products. Half of everyone has an iPhone and many use Google services. As I said before, I still use Linux at home (and Emacs at work, actually, since that's not "banned").

There is typically little hierarchy. The interns used to go to Bill Gates house for a BBQ. The VPs of each department sometimes meet with new hires for a chat. Many senior people are quite humble (and humorous).

Bear in mind that this is the main campus and its not unusual for remote campuses to have a different culture. Also, it is typical of less competent people to have a false sense of superiority (re:the abovementioned director).