Microsoft is ranked in Fortune Magazine 2006 list of "100 Best Companies to Work For" and "America’s Most Admired Companies". About 25,000 Microsoft employees work at or near the corporate campus in Redmond, Washington. The rest are spread across the globe.

Recently, Bill Gates discussed at length about his working style at Microsoft. Let's now look at the different side of the coin. Meet Michael L. Brundage, one of the millions of programmers at Microsoft who talks about what it's like to work for Microsoft.

Mike is associated with Microsoft since 1999 and prior to that, he worked with NASA. Some interesting parts of his essay:

 • Everyone at Microsoft including those with "Blue Collar" jobs like the cook and bus driver understand software.

 • Except for semi-annual reviews, there's almost no paperwork for a software developer at Microsoft. There are no timecards to fill out, no requisition forms, no authorizations or permission slips.

 • Employees can choose their own development tools. You are not limited to use "Created by Microsoft" only software.

 • The outside world only knows about Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer but there's plenty of top-notch people.

But unlike the anonymous Microsoft employee, Michael hates middle managers at Microsoft.

If you feel excited, click here to apply for a job at Microsoft.