A flexible schedule, no strict punching in or out system, a host of on-site activities — who wouldn’t want to be a Microsoft employee? The sheer number of Microsoft employee benefits is enough for anyone to start prepping for the company’s interview process.
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To give you a peek into what a Microsoft employee’s life looks like, in this article, we’ll be covering:
- Life at Microsoft
- On-site Microsoft employee benefits
- Microsoft software engineer salary at different levels
- Microsoft Software Engineer Salary as Compared to FAANG
- Microsoft employee benefits: Financial and retirement
- Microsoft Employee Benefits: Health and Wellness
- Other Microsoft employee benefits
- FAQs on Microsoft employee benefits
- Want to Experience Microsoft Employee Benefits?
Life at Microsoft
Microsoft actively encourages its employees to experiment and push boundaries. Their culture is very employee-centric. They always aim to provide only the best for their employees as the company strongly believes it actively affects their performance as well.
People tend to perform better in a surrounding where they feel valued. Hence, the world-class benefits that Microsoft offers all its employees — from senior management right down to its interns. Based on their performance, Microsoft invests in the employee.
On-site Microsoft Employee Benefits
As an employee at Microsoft, you can expect tons of fun-filled activities at most of their sprawling offices globally. Some Microsoft perks at work we’ve seen are:
- Fitness: The company offers paid memberships to its employees. They have full-service gyms within their campuses, or they give extra money so that their employees can spend it on their fitness programs.
- On-site retail shops: Work and play go hand-in-hand at the Microsoft offices. Microsoft US has facilities such as an on-campus social club, a bank, 11 different restaurants, retail shops holding the latest sports gear for enthusiasts, and so on.
- Sports equipment: If you need a break from all that work, you can check out their stock of frisbees, basketballs, soccer balls, bicycles, etc., which is another perk of working at Microsoft.
- Cafes and kitchens: Do you know that the Redmond Microsoft campus houses 33 cafes, 37 espresso stands, and 500 kitchenettes? This is naturally one of the most popular Microsoft employee benefits of working on-campus.
- Connector shuttle: Around 55 Wi-Fi and power-enabled shuttles transport Microsoft employees in the Seattle area to-and-from work. This way, they save around 2,00,000 car rides each year.
- Flexibility: Microsoft understands that you might be an early bird or a late riser. So to accommodate both, it has flexible work hours so that your productive hours aren’t affected. It also has a simple dress code — you have your own style; we expect you to bring it.
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Microsoft Software Engineer Salary at Different Levels
The base salary of Microsoft employees is pretty straightforward. The company hands out annual bonuses in September every year, and it ranges anywhere from 0% to 40% of eligible salary.
The average salary of a Microsoft software engineer at different levels:
Source: levels.fyi
Microsoft Software Engineer Salary as Compared to FAANG
The average software engineer salary at Microsoft as compared to FAANG have been given below:
Source: levels.fyi
As is clear from the table, Microsoft offers competitive pay to its software engineers. The average salary at the company compared to those at FAANG is pretty much in the same range.
Microsoft Employee Benefits: Financial and Retirement
Some financial and retirement Microsoft employee benefits you will be getting are:
- 401K plan
- Retirement plan
- Employee stock purchase plan
- Charitable gift matching
- Performance bonus
- Stock options
- Equity incentive plan
- Supplemental workers’ compensation
Microsoft Employee Benefits: Health and Wellness
Microsoft provides two types of health plans: standard health plans and Health Savings Account (HSA). The latter strategically helps the employees save for future healthcare costs and reduce the yearly tax bill by thousands of dollars.
Some more Microsoft employee benefits in the health and wellness section are:
- Health insurance
- Dental insurance
- Life insurance
- Vision insurance
- Accidental death and dismemberment insurance
- Mental health care
- Sick leave (12 days)
- Maternity leave (26 weeks)
- On-site fitness classes (yoga, Zumba, etc.)
- On-site health care
- PTO (paid time-off; 15 days for years 0-6, 20 days for years 7-12, and 25 days for 13 years or more)
- Paternity leave (12 weeks)
- Family sickness leave
Other Microsoft Employee Benefits
Some miscellaneous Microsoft employee benefits are:
- Pet insurance
- Housing stipend
- Adoption assistance
- Business travel insurance
- Fertility assistance
- Student loan repayment plan
- Employee discount
- Tuition reimbursement
The bottom line is there’s a reason why people work so hard to get into Microsoft and other tier-1 companies. The lifestyle, comfort, and security that they provide are unparalleled. So let these long lists of Microsoft employee benefits serve as motivation for you to up your preparation level.
Here are some articles with details that can help you prepare for an interview with Microsoft:
- Microsoft Software Engineer Interview Questions
- How to Answer the “Why Microsoft?” Interview Question
FAQs on Microsoft Employee Benefits
Some commonly asked questions on Microsoft employee benefits are:
1. What does Microsoft give its new employees?
Apart from the annual cash bonus that every employee gets yearly (between 0% to 40% of eligible salary), new employees also get an on-hire cash bonus. This bonus is given within 30 to 60 days of employment.
2. What extra benefits do Microsoft employees get?
Besides bonuses and stock options, employees also get tons of lifestyle discounts (restaurants, travel, spa, pet care, car repair, and so on). They also get to work at flexible hours.
3. Is it possible to negotiate the salary Microsoft offers?
The base salary Microsoft offers is only slightly lower than the FAANG companies. Even though it is possible to negotiate this component, the increase will typically be lesser than equity and signing bonus increases.
4. Does Microsoft offer a pension?
Microsoft has a 401k retirement savings plan that lets employees invest a percentage of their salary into long-term investments. This leads to savings for their retirement.
5. Does Microsoft pay for Masters?
Microsoft offers every employee up to $10,000 every year to cover tuition, books, and other fees of any course related to the company’s business, including an MBA program.
Want to Experience Microsoft Employee Benefits?
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