> I always thought about MSFT as like working for the government: A somewhat boring, stable, 9-5, predictable workplace
That obviously wasn't true in the 90s (see the famous Microserfs book), but might be true today, so I would argue against the "always" for those of us around then.
To be clear: working at Microsoft is a hell of a lot better than working in government. You're generally fulfilled creatively and paid extremely well - at least in comparison to everywhere but the very top paying tech firms.
What the commenter is saying is true though, Microsoft is a place where you can have an actual career and great work-life balance. It's been that way for at least a decade now.
One thing I liked when I was there, which was wow, 15 years ago, now... everyone[1] got their own closed-door office. It was a lot more like academia or how I might envision a Japanese corporation.
[1] Depending on your department and logistics, the definition of 'everyone' occasionally varied.
I can't really judge that, I mean, I've worked for Microsoft but not the government. Just that...the "work-life balance" thing wasn't anywhere near the stereotype when I was school in the 90s (but I did not work for them then either).
