labels: autobiographical, microsoft, amazon
https://www.reddit.com/r/TheFlyingTree/comments/15667he/biiiig_news/jsyg10w/?context=3
If you don't mind me asking, what took you away from Microsoft?
I was hired to help start a new data science team in an organization that wasn't ready for us. I got a bad vibe as soon as I started and should have transferred out as soon as I could, but wanted to give it a shot and leaned into my discomfort. After three years, my team had basically completely dissolved, I didn't feel like I was having any impact, and I was unhappy in my role. Between them clearly not needing me and me not getting anything out of it, there was really just no reason for me to stay and stagnate in my skills besides health insurance and a salary. I would have transferred if I could have, but by then I was at a point where I wasn't going to receive a bonus, which meant I wasn't even eligible for an internal transfer. I left to focus on personal projects, which ultimately led to a lot of better opportunities including where I'm at now. Within a year, that data science team was fully dissolved, validating that I had really no reason to stay. The org I'd joined simply wasn't ready for a data science team and did a really, really shitty job hiring and building that one. Data science at Microsoft broadly isn't all like that, but that particular org really had no idea what they were doing.
If you want to get really excited: take note of how long everyone around you has been at microsoft. When I was there, it was like I was surrounded by people with double-digit tenures. That was quite a stark change from where I was coming from, Amazon, where it was unusual to meet anyone who'd been there more than 3-5 years.