Should I accept the position Microsoft is offering me?

Congratulations on receiving a job offer!

In these times of corporate downsizing in the computer industry, there are many 
who would look at your question and say, “what are you, nuts? Of course you 
should accept it!” But if you take a job you don’t want, or that will not fit 
you, then you’ll be unlikely to stay with it… and a short-term position may 
hurt your career more than a longer period of unemployment.

Resume screen-out factors
http://www.careerperfect.com/CareerPerfect/resumeFAQs1-5.htm


Deciding on a job offer can be a difficult process, and it’s important to 
consider more than simply salary. Location of the job, benefits, reputation of 
the company, and, of course, the job itself are all factors.

If you would be relocating for the position, it’s important to consider the 
costs of relocating, whether Microsoft will be paying any or all of those 
costs, and whether there are other opportunities for you (and/or your family) 
in the area. Microsoft has offices in many locations, including Redmond and 
Silicon Valley. Redmond, in the Seattle area, has many high-tech companies, as 
does the Silicon Valley, but both have been hit with quite a lot of corporate 
downsizing.

Full Coverage: Downsizing and Layoffs
http://dailynews.yahoo.com/fc/Business/Downsizing_and_Layoffs/news_stories_1.htm
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The cost of living in the area where the job is may be important to you, too- 
what sounds like a great salary where you live now may be a pauper’s sum where 
you are going. You can find relative cost of living information, along with a 
lot of information about relocating, here:

Moving
http://www.homefair.com

Microsoft has a comprehensive set of employee benefits, including medical and 
dental insurance, vision care, 401k, an employee stock purchase plan, paid 
maternity and parental leave, adoption assistance, and free beverages. In 
addition, many employees are offered stock options. The value of these benefits 
depends on your own needs, but should certainly be taken into account when 
evaluating the offer you have received. 

Microsoft Employee Benefits
http://www.microsoft.com/jobs/benefits.htm

Microsoft certainly has a reputation, and whether positive or negative, nearly 
everyone has an opinion on it. It has built the world’s best selling operating 
system, and continues to build new versions of that, plus quite a few other 
pieces of software.

But, most important in considering whether to take an offered position is the 
job and its fit for you. The following links may help you as you work through 
your decision:

Factors to consider when deciding on job offers
http://www.upenn.edu/careerservices/wharton/offerdecision_factors.html

Evaluating Job Offers & Negotiating Salary
http://www.jobweb.com/Resources/Library/Career_Pursuit/Evaluating_Job_75_01.htm

Figure out what your dream job is!
Dream job coaching
http://www.dreamjobcoach.com/sitemap.shtml

Advice for career assessment
http://www.review.com/career/carAdviceSC.cfm

Deciding on contracts
http://www.planning.org/consultant/worth.html

Ultimately, only you can decide if you should take this position; you must 
weigh the pros and cons as they pertain to your situation, and compare it with 
your other options.

Good luck with your decision and I hope this has helped!

I wasn't expecting much of an answer to such an open-ended question.
However all the information I got back was very helpful. Thanks.

The answer would be based on a lot of factors.  Many of which are discussed in 
detail on web pages such as these:

http://www.career.cornell.edu/students/search/offer.html
http://fletcher.tufts.edu/ocs/alumni/Handouts031301.pdf
http://static.monstertrak.com/careerguide/article_decisions.html

However from my own experience Microsoft is a great place to work.  I’ve been 
with Microsoft for 5 years, and compared to other companies the benefits are 
very good and job security is excellent.  For me one of the greatest aspects 
of working at Microsoft is the ability to have a global impact.  For example, 
going on vacation in another country and seeing someone use software you have 
worked in different language is quite remarkable.  Also, the diversity of the 
work is a wonderful strength of Microsoft.  The ability to work on a job 
ranging from Word to the Xbox to the .NET framework is very cool.  

Another point you may consider is the currently climate of the computer 
industry.  Many high tech companies have had layoffs, and for most workers 
finding new work is sometimes difficult:
http://www.cnn.com/2001/CAREER/trends/07/12/techies.layoffs/
http://news.com.com/2100-1017-832553.html

While Microsoft has not had any layoffs, it is in a hiring slow down so 
getting a job offer from Microsoft can be quite difficult so you're quite 
fortunate!

Best of luck in your decision!

Actually, Microsoft had layoffs in Mountain View yesterday.

Microsoft Slashes 60 Jobs In Valley
http://www.bayarea.com/mld/mercurynews/business/3120925.htm

You might want to look at this article, "Why Microsoft's Stock Options
Scare Me"

http://www.fool.com/portfolios/rulemaker/2000/rulemaker000217.htm

Is says that while Microsoft pays employees less then industry
average, they make up for it in stock options. It is these stock
option expenses that allow Mircosoft to avoid paying a lot of tax.
However, all this new stock being created dilutes the stock, lowering
the value. Dispite that Microsoft stock has been rising in value over
the years.

The question is, can this be sustained? If it cannot the value of your
pay may drop sigificantly.