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three months at MS

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It's the end of the year, and thus time to reflect. I've been with MS, and the MacBU, for three months. Back when the recruiter contacted me, I was ... well, I suppose 'ambivalent' is the best word here. I wasn't actively looking for a job, but I was beginning to think that it was time to move on from my previous employer. The recruiter found me one afternoon (through MacRumors, no less [1]), identified himself and the group he was working for. The recruiter caught me at the right time, but I wasn't sure about the idea. I mean, it's Microsoft. I'd learned from years of reading /. that MS is the Evil Empire. I've made all of the same jokes about MS that everyone else has: blue screens, borg, you know the drill. But I gave it a go anyway: I had nothing to lose, and since when were /. commenters known for their unbiased opinions?

Walking in, aside from the vague concerns that I was going to have a chip implanted and I'd never be able to leave Redmond, I was wondering how the MacBU worked. Was it a redheaded stepchild? What kind of people worked here? Do they like it? What's next? What interesting questions are there to be answered? My attitude changed through the day: from ambivalence with the first interviewer (who was the recruiter, so maybe he doesn't count as an interviewer) up to genuine excitement at the position when I finally left campus at 5:30. They offered, I accepted, and here I am.

What do I like about working here? I work with a lot of people who really care about putting out good software. We're not completely divorced from the Windows side (after all, there's always file format compatibility that needs to happen), but we get to do what we need to do. There are Mac-only features found throughout the suite. (My favourites are the Project Center in Entourage and the Notebook view in Word.) The group that cares deeply about doing right by the customer, which means that my work as a usability engineer is highly valued. It's not about putting new functionality into the product; it's about making it easier for our users to do whatever it is that they need to do, whether they're a chef or a teacher or a retail buyer or an IT director. Plus I get to attend MWSF for the very first time (and you can swing by the MacBU booth and say hi to me, I'm there quite a lot).

What don't I like about working here? I tense up a little bit when I tell people that I work at MS, because I'm not the only person who has ever referred to this company as the Evil Empire. I've long since lost count of how many complaints I've heard about blue screens or something about VB or whatever. For that matter, I've long since lost count of how many times I've been asked whether I've met Bill Gates yet; it's as if people think that he's just going to pop into my office one afternoon and ask how I like the cafeteria. And speaking of the cafeteria, the local one is closed this week, meaning I have to go out in the cold rain for lunch. I get asked a lot about future MS products, especially Windows and Xbox stuff, and I have no idea about that kind of thing.

In other words, I'm very happy about being here. I like working on software that people use because they want to. I like the people I work with. I like working on something that has a strong user focus, and with people who fundamentally understand that a user focus is important. There are cool things in the pipeline. What more can a geekgirl want in a job?

[1] I created an account there so that I could post a question on the forums. When I created my account, I filled out the info pretty honestly: I had my name, my IM info, and my job title. I'm not sure how the recruiter found that, but he did. He IMed me, and that started the process that somehow ended up in me sitting here in SVC.

Comments

  • Anonymous
    December 29, 2005
    It'll be a pleasure to meet you at MWSF Nadyne :-)

    Corentin
  • Anonymous
    December 29, 2005
    Do you really think that everyone uses MS software because they want to?
  • Anonymous
    December 30, 2005
    Count me in on that. If you are in S.F. on monday, let me extend to you, and the rest of the MacBU Expo crew, an invite to the Mac-Mgrs party at the Beale Street Bar & Grill, (Upstairs). It's a geekfest of interesting proportions. (You've not seen humor until you seen a plastered sysadmin trying to make ethernet cable that passes a Fluke meter's inspection, then finding out that his reward for making it was to make 150' long one for some folks who discovered that you in fact, can't easily find such lengths at CompUSA).

    You'll of course, get properly razzed about working for MS, but everyone gets razzed no matter who they work for. I think it's like ten bucks to cover the booze, and if Chuck's in the mood, we'll have the trivia contest too.
  • Anonymous
    December 30, 2005
    Joe Schmo: Do you really think that everyone uses MS software because they want to?

    It's all relative. I used to work on database software, so I never talked to users who were really excited about the idea of toiling over a database for the day. Comparitively speaking, yes, people use the MS software that I work on because they want to. :)
  • Anonymous
    January 03, 2006
    I like using Office:Mac. So far, it does what I want better than anything else.