10 things I have loved about Microsoft (3 years in!)
Today (October 10, 2024) marks exactly 3 years since I joined the Human-AI Experiences (HAX) group at Microsoft Research. It easily has been one of the best jobs I have had. Here are some reflections, and 10 things I have loved about working here.
It is also fitting that Microsoft just got voted as the best place to work in 2024 by forbes.
What has worked out well
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Interesting Projects: I've had the opportunity to work on truly interesting projects, including AutoGen Studio, GitHub Copilot etc.
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Exceptional Colleagues: Great work environment, with a diverse group of intelligent and collegial people, making collaboration a pleasure. I have learned alot from members of the HAX team!
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Cross-Team Collaboration: I've had the chance to work closely with teams from other parts of the company, such as collaborating with GitHub folks for the Copilot launch, presenting work on LIDA to product teams from Excel, PowerBi, Purview and supporting cross-company efforts to enable GenAI for Visualization.
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Open Source Commitment: Microsoft is a significant contributor to open-source software, with projects like VSCode and numerous open source machine learning models on huggingface. This commitment to the developer community has been really refreshing. Being able to also open source my work (LIDA, AutoGen Studio and having it used by a broad community has been a really positive career/work experience.
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Awesome Bay Area Office: Our Silicon Valley where I sit is great! . See for yourself Microsoft Bay Area Office.
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Workplace Flexibility: There's considerable flexibility in terms of work location and hours, allowing for a better work-life integration. Hopefully, this continues to be the case.
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Visionary Leadership: Under Satya Nadella's leadership, Microsoft has undergone a remarkable transformation, fostering innovation and growth. Its a great time to be at Microsoft!
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Great Benefits: Excellent benefits package that supports employees' well-being and financial security. The best workplace award by Forbes agrees with this!
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Work-Life Balance: Microsoft promotes a healthy balance between professional and personal life, which is crucial for long-term satisfaction and productivity. This varies by groups and we are a bunch of hard workers at HAX. But we also take time off. Like really take time off.
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Career Growth Opportunities: There's a clear path for professional development, although, like in any large organization, some networking and self-advocacy are necessary for advancement. I appreciate I can understand the career ladder and what it takes to move up.
It should be needless to say, but the above is one individual's experience and a very small data point! The reader is encouraged to seek out multiple perspectives and experiences to form a more complete picture. Even within the same organizations, experiences will vary widely based on the team, manager, and individual circumstances.
Conclusion
Again, this is just my personal experience. The hope is that it is useful for anyone interested in joining Microsoft/Microsoft Research. Also, all of this is written with the humility of knowing that organisations change, individuals change