I am going through some finanical hardships and is getting the level changed is the only way for a salary increase? If youve capped out at Level 62 then MS is probably not a great fit for you. If it doesn't, what could you add to make that work? HC-freeze is already in motion, as is serioius savings in all FSC/COS - only thing still not explored is layoffs. Look closely, and you'll probably find that this person is working symbiotically with someone else who masters those skills while lacking others.YES, there are people who've been promoted because they've simply "been there" for a long time. YES, life is unfair.At the end, mastering 'soft skills' will help anyone: even someone at 59. At 63, he has to be the one who tells me what the next thing for the product should be. Your Recently Promoted L63 Peers: let's say you have at least one peer that in the past year or so has been promoted to L63. I basically just hoped that hard work would get me ahead. Senior->principal->partner are the level bands, 63/64->65/66/67, 68/69/70. After that, I was given a team that was dysfunctional and the most problematic area of the product - now its the area that customers rave about and the team is running smoothly.The bottom line is that takes (1) very hard work (2) you need to build your skills (3) personality to drive the solution in spite of the process and (4) demand excellence from others - including managing out those that will never deliver quality (some folks are net losses to the team).I always hear the whining from folks that get stuck at level 62/63 but when those tough challenges are out there, they don't volunteer and they certainly don't go looking for the biggest challenges. Many folks lurk longer in the 60-62 range because they are not challenged enough to move to the next level. They don't get defensive if their ideas are revealed to have flaws but rather delight in being able to move to a better solution. I think that a lot of what you wrote was spot on, although the situation varies somewhat across the company. At that time, I understood those questions as being just an excuse that the manager used because he or she didnt like something in my skills or personality. In MCS, soft skills are often more important than hard skills since you work with customers (often angry ones), sales (often under pressure and looking for someone to blame). It operates through the following business segments: Productivity and Business Processes,. There is only one item in this list: visibility. Tech savvy yet entrepreneurship minded hence able to see things from . When it comes to where you actually rank and what you get paid that part is all that matters. This past year I had what I thought was an outstanding year, was given a 20%, but not promoted to L63. Just ensure that you do the absolute best in whatever is thrown at you and promotion will take care of itself. Think about why they're able to do that.-jcr. But coming back is a HUGE IF, since I can't see ever going back the that cesspool of stupid. L63 takes a bit longer but is also fast. Feel free to . The key thing is finding the right team and manager, along with the comments you made. Think about why they're able to do that.These two lines really serve to summarize the incoherent blithering that was jcr's post. Last August (different group), I received a dreaded "Limited II", in spite of my manager telling me that he didn't actually think I was in the "bottom 10" at Microsoft, but that the devil made him do it (so to speak) and that it was a "no-brainer" for him. I think that everyone has a bad year or 2 and you should not get worried about spending a lot of years in one level unless you have been on the same team for a long time.So my advice is1. Perhaps someone can explain to me how you get successfully promoted without your boss's support. We had a strategic plan for getting me the visibility with the higher-ups that I needed.My promotion to Level 65 during the last annual review period was clearly the hardest. Also, its important to keep in mind that it is impossible to provide a perfect definition of any level. I've seen L65's who can't own a cardboard box, let alone a room.Well you know, don't go for them for advice! Bottom line: Dont be shy of asking for promotions during internal transfers. Make sure you have chosen commitments that you can exceed, and that you deliver visible and significant value to your business and customers. Ugh, not good, not good at all.>Finance is cutting 10% of work force. If you read CSPs this is the underlying message more or less. clinical research associate entry level jobs near me; new laws for first time violent offenders in louisiana. There is a comment about reporting to someone who is the same level as you are. Reading all this makes me so happy I don't work at MS anymore. How do you get the right job/work that will make the impact. Here are some things from my perspective.1. You have the right stuff to succeed and Microsoft is very happy with you. Our entire unit was let go but we were moved to different groups in the org. I'm not talking about "managing up" (though that helps a little if done properly) but it's all about understanding your manager and skip manager's priorities and proactively succeeding in those areas. Mgmt, MSFT levels: CEO > VP > Partner(Director) > Principal > Sr. Eng > Eng 2 > Eng 1. About 1/2 the team is staying, the other half is going to a number of different teams within the larger org. A broad perspective matters.3) This is all about stack rank. I'm sure others here will clarify.And apparently we will all know more in January. Anyone moved from Office to some other part of company? Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer. It varies greatly from manager to skip.The hardest point for me to bear is that I am young, capable of doing so much more, and absolutely dying to do more. )Those are only 3 of many 'soft skills' that will hold most people, even brilliant people, back.Has every level X mastered these skills? Former Employee Director, Level 65 at Microsoft Aug 11, 2009 - Director in Redmond, WA Recommend CEO Approval Business Outlook Pros Microsoft has all the resources necessary to win in the market, and you're surrounded by some of the brightest people in the world. Are you ok with what you hear? What are the levels for non eng roles? Former is work of many years and long nights and proven track record while later is basically your ability to bullshit through 6 interviews. Got two promotions - still level 60If you really got promoted twice then you would have advanced 2 levels.Either you didn't actually get promoted, or someone told you lies. I have seen people turn it around. Benefits can add thousands of dollars to your offer. What worked well and what really horked things up for you? One question a manager will think about before promoting you is how many times he had to clean up after you pissed off someone else - especially if it's someone on another team. Chris Capossela. Only one can emerge, and not everyone can be a senior simultaneously. Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. With this article at OpenGenus, you must have the complete idea of various job levels at Microsoft. Might as well fire those guys. When I finally figured out how to play well with others and was able to show some major cross-group gains in addition to my own leet prod dev skills, that's when I became a 63.63 to 64 was a bit of a slog -- I'd say more like a full-frontal assault on lazy management, actually :). Make them successful at their job. I only wish the internal MyMicrosoft blog had posts that were this valuable and insightful. Eng, Go to company page Sometimes i laugh when i read the armchair CEO's on this thread - there is a lot of criticism of Steve, but 99% of our brains would absolutely pop if we had to confront the complexity of decisions he makes in one day. The second was threat (I have a serious offer outside the company that I am taking). So no time like the present to practice where you can. Microsoft Corp. engages in the development and support of software, services, devices, and solutions. Microsoft Director level role - Level 66 - what should I expect from COMP sideYOE-15Current TC- 235k I think talking about level just confuses people as beyond US there is a different level system!L63 in the US is Senior (Level 60 in most of the other countries), well, moving to Senior is not such a big thing if you have experience, with more than 10 years in the industry I was hired at this level, now Senior II is just a matter of continuing contributing but the different comes to Principal (or lead), here is where you need to shine in order to succeed.Recommendation: Work not only towards your commitments but your managers as well As a former L65 (left MSFT about two months ago) I can say you are right on when it comes to understanding where your boss stands. Your manager has to know that either you get promoted sometime soon or you will go and get promoted somewhere else. This means there are 24 distinct job levels at Microsoft. If you are considering leaving your team (or Microsoft) but think you could be persuaded to stay, be careful about how you present this to your manager. I have seen and known many of my own peers who don't get promoted because of potential but the number of people you know in the leadership team. Jobs are leveled, not people - make sure the job you have includes the scope needed for the level you want. If it does, are you demonstrating success at that next level already and do people know about it? They had to be given outlandish levels so as to match their previous compensation. Its above level 64 that things get tough, but getting to 64 isn't difficult. Who da'Punk Joined MCS at level 60 and was immediately told that L61 would be years away. Could be principal engineer, principal engineering manager, could even be director depending on the org. Write it down in a team-culture career section you keep in OneNote (start that section now if you don't have it). In the beginning, I volunteered for these tough areas that no one else wanted and over time, my brand became the fix it guy. I'm now off the meds, not seeing the psychiatrist, and living happily.Working at MS was both the best time in my life and the worst time. The conclusion: its price today! You have to strive to get the KEY to the boss's heart and brain. VP has to find the 10 devs from some other less attractive project. If you find yourself in this spot - get a good external mentor to help you manage through it if you don't feel you can have this conversation with your manager.4. But above L62 the talent is intense and that is good. Here's how to find it. If youre not doing a great job at your current level youre not even going to be considered for the next level. I sympathize with folks who feel they have been shafted however to quote a cliched saying: the common factor between you and all your problems is you. 4. Its usually comes down to do it and be unhappy or leave. Avoid long-winded multi-point e-mails, boil down your points as succinctly and efficiently as possible. How many has Live hired this year and OneCare gets cut? I'm just going to try and emphasize a few points here:* As mentioned by many folks, it is important to own your career and hence plan you promotion, discuss it with your manager, and most importantly follow up on it. If they can, pay attention: They don't even know the area as well as your superiors, and you need to spend more time covering your bases. I'm interested in hearing your stories of success, mentorship, and turning a career that was off-path back on-track. I'm not looking for any off-topic comments let alone woe-be-me comments - remember that slap thing? Results-focused: they are focused on getting great results and don't entwine their ego to particular solutions. Apple should in no way be throwing stones at Microsoft in this regard. Its, actually, quite a short list. Leverage your professional network, and get hired. Thank you for reviewing my profile. This will only lead us to a healthy and balanced distribution of levels across genders. I came in at L61 2+ years ago. The true professional with loads of potential is left to Sulk. Averages based on self-reported salaries. It's a very rare thing that you'll find a manager who gives you the kind of actionable feedback you need to succeed without doing a whole lot of sleuthing and groundwork of your own to fill in the blanks. "Now that the Annual review is approaching"You're probably too late already. Do it nicely. They didn't want to plateau, but that is just where they were given MS talent pool. As someone who left MS @ L63 - and supposedly tracking strongly to L64 - and who has seen a lot of questionable promos occur, I think it's fair to say that the rise to "Senior" follows a slighly skewed distribution curve in that in the largest bucket case, you can probably see that L63 was warranted.However, on either end of the distribution, by which I mean people who easily obtained it and people who seriously struggled to obtain it, there are some disturbing anomalies that are difficult to explain away.You might say, "I can live with the corner cases" and I would agree that optimizing for those isn't worthwhile.BUT! It sounds fishyMy manager was also saying me something along the same lines. You will not know the difference. Thankfully, those are relatively uncommon. Success breeds Success: I remember reading an article about an extensive study to determine the best predictor of a stocks price tomorrow. "2) Peel the onion. At Level 66, Microsoft employees reported that nearly 40% of compensation was in the form of cash and stock bonuses. Taking the easy escape out like that, you are more likely to get into the same situation at other companies. Unless you know for sure that your boss's answer is an immediate "Absolutely!" When (if) you are then promoted to 62, you are not expected to continue performing at a level 62 level, but rather a level 63 level.The reason that you have to perform at a new level before reaching it is to avoid the Peter Principle, being people promoted up to their level of incompetence. You don't get your money by snatching it out of Google or Apple's hands, you get it by convincing your customers to hand it to you.Do you want to know why Vista is such an unmitigated disaster? For others, the picture will not be so clear and they may place more weight on perceptions or a set of isolated incidents. But that's kind of the point -- simplify your approach. Few others are long time softies who have been doing average to good job for very long time (3-7 years) without getting any promos. They came from "hot" product teams. It's probably true that there's more to the story and that they actually have important skills that matter. I haven't seen one single person getting hired below L63 in my group during last year. Think Locally: remember three years back when we talked about the book Corporate Confidential? Popping out of the pack in peer reviews may take some time so you have to be diligent, consistent and never give up. Are you sure you know what your boss wants? Then you're on the path to higher levels. This is usually how teams start to rot from the inside. I also agree with the requests to have a discussion related to 65+.Anyway, I have seen a very healthy discussion going on here, and most of the thoughts I wanted to share have been mentioned. I take a creative approach to accelerating business transformation as a . Sometimes the answer is, "well, we'll see" and other times the answer is, "if they'd only stop doing X and start doing Y on a sustained basis, I could see it". According to Glassdoor, senior software engineers at Google can earn $172,818 as their average base pay, along with average cash bonuses of $30,921, stock bonuses of $104,769, and some other cash incentives for a total of $201,000. This way you have a more clear understanding of the seniority of that particular position and if you search for a group manager you will see the seniority distribution. You broke the trust cycle so don't expect anything else. A great internal tool to help you sync your self perception with those around you is available internally at http://hrweb/US/CareerDev/folder/ms360process.htm. I joined Microsoft at L63 in Office and found it to be a freakshow of people NOT working together but understanding that no team work was better for getting a promotion FAR better than I did having come from the Valley. Maybe Steve Jobs' psychotic approach to managing by terror is not properly described in English as "junk yard dog mode" (standing up for what needs to be done vs. mind-numbing consensus wallowing). PROFESSIONAL SKILLS & HIGHLIGHTS OF QUALIFICATIONS Over 20+ years of experience working in large-scale real-time corporate environments Able to communicate concepts and details to clients, development team and testing team Excellent organization and communication skills, both written and verbal: clear and concise Knowledge of computer development software across multiple platforms . Therefore, our need for people who can collaborate across their own team, across disciplines, across org boundaries is greater than ever before. My biggest struggle has been getting good feedback on where I need to grow. Know when your market worth changes with our verified salaries newsletter, See exactly how much your competitors pay. How do you ensure there is no conflict of interest. Heck, we would be lucky if many can do even that well. Will <