Ask the Readers: Dream Job
We talk a lot on this blog about building a solid resume, interviewing well and more as part of getting that dream job at Microsoft. Of course, that dream job looks different to every candidate, so today why not tell us what it looks like to you?
What's your Microsoft dream job? Do you have a specific team or product you'd love to work on? Is there a research opportunity here you can't find anywhere else? Or do you just want to code for free soda? :-) Let us know!
29 Comments
Ron said:
My dream job at MS would be a PM (ic) or Lead PM in DevDiv or the Data Team. Something where I can use the 20+ years of experience I have building applications on the Microsoft platform to 1) help MS understand how things are done in the trenches and 2) help the community understand how to position/use the MS offerings in their environments.
The free soda helps =)
Shruti said:
Windows Mobile UI.... maybe one day =)
(Coming up on my 1 year anniversary at MS!)
John said:
Nothing that exists today, I believe in making a difference and so far I haven't seen that possibility in any of the positions at Redmond or perhaps I am just to picky and should just apply :)
Jean Gagnon said:
A dream job would be one in which I can be as creative as I really am, as innovative as I can be while being encouraged to be curious, to share and to grow team knowledge and ideas, without the usual reaction I did too often see in the last 20 years or so, I mean "fear of change", "do not disturb establishment", "do not be too wise" (or at least do not show it)... Such a dream job would of course be at Microsoft ! Changing the world through innovative passion: no matter which specific product is the mean to get there, that's the REAL dream job ! But for a french canadian (Province of Quebec) like I am, this dream job will probably forever stay a dream... Lucky people are you out there at MS ! ;-)
Airton Leal said:
My dream is working evangelize MS customers in Collaboration Platform (Exchange and OCS), if you have one position for me, let me know! :)
said:
My dream job would be as a PM or dev that produces products with a quick response to community needs. Working on iterations of a powertoy product (VS or TFS) would probably be a good fit. As well as loving to code, I would like to keep in touch with the community and get people actively involved in guiding dev cycles.
said:
Dear Microsoft.
You all know who I am. (Well some of you)
My dream job is almost three fold.
1) Short term, I would sell my soul for ANY position that would just TOUCH a teeeeeeensy little bit on my present skills. Yes I would run about in a ballerina dress singing Highway to Powershell in Military boots while swinging a keyboard to be an SEE on the Exchange team.
2) Long term, become a developer or a coder (on any level)
3) Somewhere in the midst of all this, continue to do Friday Funnies (even if Microsoft doesn't pay for this, it doesn't matter. I would love to find myself in some way to still have time to this passion. If marketing could harness this in any way (even .00003%) GO FOR IT.
With all this in mind for my dream job at Microsoft, I would put this forward. Although I need to make a certain amount to live, I would forgoe benefits and that whole "Work/Life" balance to MAKE IT WORTH YOUR WHILE.
I know where I have skills.
I know I have weaknesses.
and I would do whatever it takes for the job to get myself up to speed.
Yes even mopping floors. (I'm not kidding, I have said it once before on interviews and I would willingly do that to help offset any training costs).
Run for coffees
Be a go fer (Go fer this, go fer that)
Can you SEE my passion?
HELP FUEL IT! :)
Sean
Your Friendly Neighbourhood Friday Funny Guy
and computer Nerd. Confessed Addict.
said:
Actually there's another piece I would love to add. And I keep kind of missing it.
I would absolutely flat out kick me in the rear end LOVE to work for the Microsoft Canada DPE team sometime. They are the very people that sparked my passions. I would love to work with them / for them in ANY way SHAPE or FORM!
Yes I can see eyes rolling with THAT one... :)
"Mr. Trouble at Microsoft Canada?! RUUUUUUUUUN!!!"
alliecat said:
My dream job would be at the accredited and highly innovative MS on-campus child care center. But could I have Tylenol instead of soda? ;-)
alliecat
Mauricio said:
Coding Computer Graphics/UI/Games!
Rafael Vargas said:
My dream job at Microsoft would be working in Windows Shell team with Raymond Chen. I have great ideas to improve Windows.
Alex said:
My dream job would be to be a PM on a product such as SharePoint or Office. In my job now I manage the delivery of solutions built on these products and love seeing clients problems being sold. To work on one of those products and have the ability to shape them would be awesome.
MahmoudAhmed said:
My dream job at Microsoft is
- Working in windows
- Develop more smart software solutions for people
like spacecrafts, robots...some thing like that!
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Simon said:
My dream job at Microsoft would probably to be a part of the research team(s) in some way (OS research would be good but robotics or new concept HID development would be best).
The spread of concepts being researched and the chance to interact with really bright minds might actually stop me being bored coming to work knowing full well I'll just be doing non-challenging, tight deadline mundane development (I currently do biometrics algorithms, financial/business systems like tills and backoffice systems, mifare/rfid tech, smartcards and the dreaded reports; all fine and dandy but old hat stuff that someone else has already done the research on, I want to make NEW things, things nobody else has EVER done!).
That's a bit selfish though, there's other things that help others too that fit the bill:-
The very perfect job would require microsoft to have a new product that found cures for diseases or something equally 'good for the world', helping with that and simultaneously doing something new would actually be the perfect job.
I'd also settle for a job writing examples and trying to improve the documentation for MSDN or something similar :) - there's the chance to make peoples lives easier there. It wouldn't be perfect but it'd be good.
What would the jobs blogs authors perfect jobs be? Are you already in yours or do you strive for something else inside Microsoft?
Anonymous said:
I'd love a dev job where I could change the world while staying in the UK, and frequently traveling to Redmond. I've been in UK MCS for 3 years but consulting doesn't fulfill my passion for being creative and changing the world.
said:
I've always loved low level programming, particularly when it involves making computers talk to each other. I've been lucky enough to spend the last 13 years doing that and I haven't gotten bored yet. My dream job at Microsoft would be to work as a SDE on a zunePhone interfacing the phone to the 3rd party cellular radio stack and providing support and expertise around the capabilities of that stack to the rest of the team.
Andrew.
Greg Lucas said:
My dream job at Microsoft would be that of a Product Planner. I believe this position would let my entrepreneurial spirit flow. It would be my dream job to work on a Microsoft product road map. Since I graduated with my MBA I have lead two companies. I very much enjoyed conducting market analysis and competitive reviews. I enjoy meeting and listening to customers to understand exactly what they are looking for and what they want. I truly believe Microsoft will continue to change the world, and I want to be a part of the change. :)
Greg Lucas
Greg3678@msn.com
thatguy said:
I personally would love to be a "technical writer" in either the entertainment/devices division or for Windows or Office. I would love to help people out by writing knowledge base articles, white pages, etc. for any of those products...
That's my dream job...
Ojas said:
Microsoft itself is a dream place for me,I use MS products since childhood,Bill Gates is like a god to me..
I am passionate about the technology,I would like to work as a developer ,I would like to see me in a SDE role(@ MS) more than anything else, When you learn to get joy out of the development, you get addicted to that! I wake up daily and do the same thing ,a development,It feels great to see the code you write is being used by other people ,I love it!
More specifically I would like to work on human computer interaction or something related to AI..I want to see systems interacting with humans in the most natural way.Systems should be able to chat with you(this can be a Fancy part for the home users :) ) they should understand what you expect and should act accordingly,It should change itself according to the user who uses it.
When I was in the high school ,I attempted to make this kind of fancy thing using MS agent ,VB6 & SAPI ,It used to observe how user uses machine,what files he\she opens ,what kind of sites he\she visits and then it used to index and categorize them,user was able to retrieve them just by saying it on mic,user was able to perform other system related tasks with the aid of their voice ..it was @ very small scale but kinda fun :D..
agung said:
My dream is become a vet on an animal rescue organization, like IFAW, works for animals freedom, animal welfare
said:
Working in Microsoft as SDE itself would be a dream job! :-)
I would love to work as SDE (no SDET), contributing C++ code to Windows, or working on some SDK, making a legacy.
Or I would also love to work as SDE in Office team, and maybe in robotics too.
Microsoft produces such different and wide-spectrum software that a SDE working there does never get bored: I believe every day working as SDE in Microsoft must be a super well-spent day, always learning new things from smart people working there, and *making* technology that *millions* people use worldwide!
Regards.
Arijit said:
To me a dream job is giving shape to what I believe in... a job which offers me the opportunity to realize my dreams....give shape to my ideas.
Aaron Linne said:
One of my dream jobs would be chronicling, in detail, the development of new products and MS milestone events. Essentially, being there from the beginning to create a documentaries on how Surface came to be, or the number of ideas already scrapped for the next Xbox.
It would be great if the next Zune, Xbox, or even Windows 7 came with a full length documentary (i.e. the Helvetica documentary) about the creation of the product already on the hard drive. With some dynamic video, the viewer could get as indepth as possible: perhaps hyperlink-like functions in the video to get more detail about a certain topic as it appears on the screen (ala dvds that can bring deleted scenes into the normal playback).
At my current company, we recently experimented with filming a meeting just to give our customers a hypertransparent look into how we get work done and create new products.
Could you imagine an indie theatre release tour focused on the drama and development of the acquisition of Yahoo or Sidekick? If there was already a documentary team in place, footage might already be there for later production. It creates a mass market and micromarketing opportunity all at once.
Dee said:
Immigration Coordinator for Microsoft. Is there a better job out there?
Frank V. said:
Right now, I would like to be a User Experience Researcher. I'm currently a Master student in Applied Cognitive Psychology and some courses have piqued my interest in the way humans interact with technology/software.
I'm not done learning yet either so the more I'll learn from my job the better. Problem is that I'm in the Netherlands now and I'm looking at companies in other countries to get some quality work experience abroad.
At least I know what I want to be doing, now I just need to get there. But figuring out what you want to do is half the effort, right? (Yes, just nod and smile at that one... :P )
said:
My Dream Job would be a software developer for Microsoft. I have been coding since C first came out and I love it! It doesn't matter what department I would be in as long as I could code the latest technologies with a good staff. The people I talk to that work for Microsoft all tell me it's a great place to work.
Fab said:
My dream job at MS would be something that could make me travel all around presenting the company and the products to new customers or prospects and work of a good team of smart and simple people that I would love to coach and lead. Complimenting that, this dream job would also allow me to take opportunity of all new gadgets to improve mobility, allowing me to stay working from home when need. To finish up, all this would be focusing social assistance in Rio de Janeiro Brazil, acting as an alternative for people from poor communities to obtain professional training, motivation and be proud of themselves. Sounds simple right? Job Title for it: VP of Make Things Happen!
Francesco Esposito said:
Two fold:
1. A job where I work in some fashion with J Allard. I am always critical and tend to focus on Application/Software Experience (UI, Value vs. Competitors, Integration Across Platforms, Ability to replace/supliment manual processes etc.).
2. I job where I get the opportunity to travel and evangalize products Internationaly.
I will have to find a better way to articulate this at MidYear :-P
Francesco
Nikhil said:
Hii..
My Dream job to be a part of Windows/ Windows Live(Live Search ) Group as SDE. To help the people through innovation. Full fill their need..