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I'm definitely agreeing Seattle will bust.. The rents are skyrocketing, but salaries are not. And , Seattle, likes its neighbor Portland to the South is importing a lot of talent that can offer very little to the job market. There is also a good number of talented people who are going to be disappointed that their so-called dream job will only end up getting them a 500 sq ft studio with a view of a dumpster and an alley, but of course, a stainless steel fridge. All this so they can sit in the worst traffic jams they can imagine.
I am amazed actually at how disgruntled many of the transplants I meet are who end up working for the big corporations, living in the inner city core. Many are like, where is all the greenery, its all just endless amounts of concrete.. Whoa the traffic!! Wow, things are sure expensive!! Oh, the job is real demanding.. Gee, there sure isn't a lot to do at night around here, blah blah. Over time people will be dismayed and people will move to other parts of the country. Actually, I know many people in the IT Field, who are actually leaving Seattle as IT jobs are becoming less rewarding to hold in the Seattle area compared with other parts of the country. Literally, an IT worker can make half the pay in some cities and live twice as good. Also, the mega corps here tend to utilize foreign labor which also makes for a more uneven playing field. As more and more people leave the city, especially those who were previously renting and buying up all the overpriced rentals, there will eventually become a deficit.
The only thing Seattle has going for it is a resort and retiree population. That is, rich people buying 2nd homes and wealthy retirees bringing their large incomes to buy up property in Seattle. Then there is the large number of people who come and work low wage jobs and will share housing, bloating housing costs as well. These two classes of people will keep coming to Seattle and contributing to rising prices , regardless of the economy. Portland, OR, with virtually no exceptional economy is a good example of this phenomenon. However, Seattle's housing market definitely still is affected by the large number of technical workers and other corporate and white collared working class people. If this part of the population is priced out of comfortable living zone and problems arise in the job market (lay offs, wage decreases, importation of more H1Bs, etc), then there will be a migration out of the city which will result in crash in housing/apartment prices across the board.
Seattle is a city of workaholics, lacking in substantial nightlife (for a city its size) and a lot of this is because of the demanding and competitive nature of the technical jobs around here. People have a hard time wanting to party and have fun when they are crunching and breaking their backs to stay ahead with such demanding and challenging jobs.
As far as Microsoft jobs are concerned, I live right near Redmond. One thing that always phases me driving around the Microsoft campus is the lack of white people. Not only lack of white people, but lack of black people. Actually, the lack of anybody who is not Asian, whether it be Indian or Chinese person. Ummmmm.... Is there a deficiency in American IT people in this country? How is it in a metro area that is predominately white, that there is almost no white people walking around the Microsoft campus? Is this just a coincidence? I think there is some serious truth to the accusations about Microsoft having unscrupulous policies of hiring people via H1B , as well as outsourcing a good amount of its workforce to places like Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai.
Now, I have heard about the contractor scenario, but I have also heard it is not a situation that works well for every IT professional. Many people like the security and benefits of being an employee rather than hired per contract scenario. Yes, less drama, but less security, which is one of the reasons you work for one of the mega corps in the first place.
Now, I have heard about the contractor scenario, but I have also heard it is not a situation that works well for every IT professional. Many people like the security and benefits of being an employee rather than hired per contract scenario. Yes, less drama, but less security, which is one of the reasons you work for one of the mega corps in the first place.
If you want to know what it's like to be a contractor at Microsoft, there's a blog post that describes it perfectly:
Quote:
One of the joys of working for Microsoft as a vender or contractor is you are not a full time employee, which of course means you are treated as such by the full time employees.
Every employee/vender/contractor is provided a badge. The badge has a picture of the person. The badge is used for many purposes such as entering the building and security. It is to be warn and visible at all times. For venders and contractors it's orange. For FTE's it's blue. You are either a blue badge or an orange badge, so know your place.
The company store is one the perks Microsoft provides it's employees. An orange badge will allow you into the store, you just aren't allowed to purchase anything once there. Unless you are friends with a blue badge and can talk them into it.
Microsoft provides it's own bus service called the Connector. The service picks up at select locations around King and Snohomish county. This provides employees a ride to work on a bus with WiFi and the ability to avoid the general public, as it's for FTE's only. No orange badges allowed, not even in the back of the bus.
Both FTE's and Dash Trash are allowed to sit at the same table in the cafeteria, and purchase the same food. But for the most part the FTE's prefer to sit it groups together.
By adding a v- or a- in front of someone's e-mail alias, it allows the recipient the knowledge that they don't need to respond to that person.
When working on a project with deliverables, since you aren't an employee, they obviously don't report to you or even have to deal with you, so there is not reason to attend the meetings you set up or complete the items assigned to them.
Most venders aren't provided a place to sit or an office. Since they don't work for Microsoft there is no reason to provide them a place to sit at Microsoft. Usually they have to find an empty office, sit in the cafeteria, or wherever they can find an open seat. Contractors are provided a seat, but it's usually crammed into an office with a handful of people even though the office was designed for only 1 or 2 people. Some are grouped into a larger seating area often referred to as a coral or CSG Bay. They get a small desk, and that's about it.
If you are a early riser don't plan on working before 7:00am. Vender and Contractor badges won't let you in the building that early. Apparently Microsoft figures if you are coming in early, you must be up to trouble.
Ever talk to a Microsoft employee in the real world? Notice how when they say they work there, their nose kind of raises a little in the air. Just like they are a little bit better than everyone else. It's like that to work with them as well. Why bother picking up after themselves in the break room, that's what other people are for. Why even bother flushing the toilet?
For familiarity and safety, they tend to live in the same neighborhoods. Few non-Microsoft employees allowed. Most employees once they've worked for the company move to Sammamish and Issaquah. Close to work, matching McMansion, and no matter what your race is, you fit in because you can take the Connector together.
I've thought about hanging signs that say "Blue Badge Only" or "Orange Badge Only" over the taller and shorter drinking fountains, as it would seem appropriate.
For those who don't know:
Vender (v-) - is someone who is employed by another company yet reports to a Microsoft manager. They can't work on the assignment indefinitely. Yet Microsoft has the option of ending the assignment whenever they want.
Contractor (a-) - is someone who is also employed by another company, but due to a lawsuit many years ago, they can only work 12 months on an assignment at Microsoft. After the 12 months they must take a 90 day break before they are allowed another contract or vender assignment.
Alias- this is a unique name assigned to each employee. It's used to accessing information, logins, e-mails etc. it's usually derived some shortened combination of a person first and last name. a- and v-are added to the beginning of each contractors or venders alias, so to further clarify who they are.
FTE - Microsoft Full Time Employee
Dash Trash - This is slang for v- or a-
Just had two friends that had been at MSFT let go within the last month. I do think it is getting harder. With Satya as the leader, I see a lot of shrinking of staff going to happen while the reorgs are ongoing to meet the current vision of the company. I loved my time at MSFT, but there is a lot of low moral and uncertainty there these days. I agree with others that MSFT is going to be using contract employees more in the next few years at least.
* Allowed to enter the store to browse around, but not allowed to purchase anything.
* Not allowed to take the company bus, cannot even sit at the back of the bus
* Nicknamed "Dash Trash"
Seems like they are treated like lowly second class citizens
* Allowed to enter the store to browse around, but not allowed to purchase anything.
* Not allowed to take the company bus, cannot even sit at the back of the bus
* Nicknamed "Dash Trash"
Seems like they are treated like lowly second class citizens
The reason for number 1 and 2has to do with the lawsuit filed against MSFT by Contractors several years ago demanding they be treated as employees with regard to certain benefits, as a result of that lawsuit, there are very SPECIFIC terms that define an employee and a contractor, and a very SPECIFIC set of criteria that an employer must follow is that an employer must make certain that there is no appearance or action taken that indicates that a contractor is entitled to the same benefits that are provided to regular employees. Therefore, contractors are not allowed to purchase software or hardware at the discounted price that is a benefit of MSFT employment. Contractors can purchase any of the items within the MSFT store that are available to any visitor on the MSFT campus, but you are required to provide a MSFT blue badge and employee number to purchase any software or hardware. Same with riding the Connector. That is a benefit provided to MSFT employees only and because making that benefit available to contractors could open MSFT up to employment lawsuits, they are not allowed to enjoy that employee benefit.
Sorry guys. The company got burned in the past and that is why they are so careful now.
Again, a lot of the reasoning behind those distinctions has to do with Employment law and the definition of a contractor, vendor or employee and the need for MSFT to operate with clearly defined relationships with each category. Don't blame MSFT, they got burned by a band of contractors several years ago and they are only following the legal requirements to protect the company and shareholders from another class action lawsuit.
I know people who've worked there for years as an outside "IT consultant" and can't manage to get hired as a real employee. I worked as an outsider for a while and quit because it sucked. I've applied for over 10 real positions, some of which were an exact match with my experience based on the job listing, and have never got a single call back.
What positions have you been applying to? It all really depends on what field you are in, but i would agree that it's difficult to get hired as an FTE, but not impossible. The number one questions we are asked when hiring is "Is this person a good fit for the team?" And "Is this person a good hire for the company". Just because you have the skills to perform the job doesn't mean you automatically get the job. The biggest hurdle is getting your foot in the door and then it's about closing out the interview loop. First impressions mean a lot, and if you can't impress the hiring manager within the first 10min, there's a good chance you won't get the next loop. There are thousands of other engineers/PMs/designers/researchers/etc, what makes you unique and special? Sell that.
If you are really struggling to get hired at MSFT, then it might not be a good time to apply. You may need to get more experience or expand your skill set.
Depends on your race, Microsoft has a preference for white male candidates .
If you actually believe being white is an advantage in the 2015 job market in America, ESPECIALLY loony-leftist Seattle, you really do belong in the nuthouse that is Western Washington.
Front-End or Full-Stack (ASP.NET) positions that are level-1 in experience.
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