<p>I'm a 4th year CS major who will be graduating in 2013 (as in, I'll graduate at the end of my 5th year). I've been offered internship positions with both Microsoft and Google. At Google, I would be working as a software developer. At Microsoft, I would be working as a PM (Program Manager). I'm having trouble deciding between the two internships.</p>
<p>I'm leaning towards Microsoft for the following reasons:
1) I feel that PM is a good fit and it's a role I'd like to try out
2) Microsoft offers full time employment to 85% of their interns (Google I've heard is far less)
3) It seems like the Microsoft internship was more competitive to get, which might be good for networking and meeting incredibly smart interns. For example, I had to go through a full day of rigorous Microsoft interviews. For Google, I just had two phone screens.</p>
<p>The main thing making me lean towards Google is that it seems to really have the most elite reputation amongst companies. On most company rankings and the like, Google comes out near number 1 while Microsoft is far lower.</p>
<p>What do you think is the right choice? I'd love to hear comments from people that have interned at Google and/or Microsoft.</p>
<p>Note: Salary offers are near identical, so this is not a factor</p>
<p>I have not interned at either so my opinion may not mean much, but I think you may be overlooking the company culture which should play a big factor into where you intern.</p>
<p>I think that microsoft is a more established company and has a more corporate vibe about it, which can be both good and bad. They have wheathered many storms and are still the leader in many markets. Also, as you stated earlier it is a much more secure thing in terms of having a job after your internship.</p>
<p>the smartest CS grads from Stanford lunge at the chance to work for Google- you will find a far larger group of incredibly smart interns there than at Microsoft. </p>
<p>The main thing making me lean towards Google is that it seems to really have the most elite reputation amongst companies. On most company rankings and the like, Google comes out near number 1 while Microsoft is far lower.
Then follow the numbers and give Google a try. You will find that having once been there, you will be far more employable to startups in SV and beyond than if you worked at MS.</p>
<p>menloparkmom: I also go to an elite CS school and I’ve had many friends get internships at Google and far fewer at Microsoft. While I don’t doubt that there are many incredibly smart people at Google, I have trouble agreeing with your suggestion that it’s in a whole different league as Microsoft. I also have trouble thinking that there are any startups that wouldn’t think I was employable after having worked at Microsoft. One of my friends who interned at Google has told me that he would have taken a Microsoft internship (he did not receive an offer).</p>
<p>I think that Google may have an advantage over Microsoft for full time positions, though I’m not sure that’s true for internships. As I understand it, Google only hires 20-25% of their interns since their internship program isn’t as selective.</p>
<p>Sounds like you’re being offered a higher-level and more secure opportunity at Microsoft, plus you say that the specific position interests you. And even if the internship salaries are similar, I’d venture to guess that if you get the job somebody with the title “Project Manager” at Microsoft is going to be paid more than the typical Google hire.</p>
<p>dzWash: I’ve definitely thought about culture. Microsoft flew me up for interviews so I got to get a good feel for the culture. Seems like a very cool place to be, and I liked my team a lot. Google doesn’t do fly-ups for internships, so I didn’t really get to get a feel for the culture. Google’s pretty famous for their culture though so I’m sure I’d love it. </p>
<p>Seems like they both have very cool cultures that I could easily fit into.</p>
<p>Dude, I’m a junior in college and have the same Google Dev / Microsoft PM decision to make for this summer. Can’t say that I’ve a great grip on what I’m choosing, but I’ve put some thought into it…</p>
<p>winglessangel: I’d love to hear what you’re thinking about your decision.</p>
<p>My current thoughts: I’m definitely still leaning towards Microsoft PM. I’m almost positive I’ll select it. As I understand it, Microsoft is very, very selective in their PM selection. Rather, I’m the only PM intern in my whole department! Beyond that, I’ve been guaranteed that my contributions will actually go into production code. This seems like an amazing experience where I’d get a lot of personal attention and work on a legitimate product that thousands (or likely more) of people use.</p>
<p>Several of my friends at Google have told me that their projects never even saw the light of day. </p>
<p>By pretty much all counts, it just seems like the Microsoft internship is a better opportunity. If I change my mind and decide I’d rather work full time at Google, I still feel like my experience at Microsoft would help me stand out more than intern experience at Google.</p>
<p>If someone has some personal experience to contradict what I’m saying, by all means let me know.</p>
<p>I just turned in my paperwork for Microsoft–it was a hard decision but a big deciding factor was the security of possibly getting a full-time job after the internship. Hope you find your decision soon!</p>
<p>What about my educational background are you looking for? I went to a mediocre college at first and then transferred to a top 15 CS school. I’ve maintained a GPA of > 3.8 during college. It’s definitely not necessary to have that high of a GPA to get an interview, though.</p>
<p>I’ve been asked to keep salary data confidential so I’ll respect that. I will say that the salaries for both are extremely good. The salary Microsoft is offering is better than any other internship offer I’ve heard of. Can’t say whether the intern offers are standardized though (as in, what I’ve been offered may be different than what someone else was offered).</p>
<p>I think you made a good choice. I have done case studies on both google and Microsoft and feel that both are good companies but Microsoft is a bit more stable in terms of future job prospects. The idea behind google is that if you enjoy work then you will remain at work and be willing to put in more hours which is a great concept. </p>
<p>This is why I feel google has built up a culture of being number 1 in workplace experience.</p>
<p>My friend interned at Microsoft and was glad he did. But then he turned right around and obtained an internship at Google. He was not ready yet to decide where he wanted to stay for long term. Having worked at Microsoft gave him options. It’s a good thing.</p>
<p>I am calling BS on this guy having a hard time deciding between google and Microsoft when he wont even mention salary when its public on glassdoor.com</p>
<p>@danpiz23 I made this username to be anonymous. The salaries are near equivalent so they’re not worth mentioning. They’re both very good, and I’m respecting the fact that they asked me to keep them confidential. Definitely don’t see a reason to post my paper work. I’ve already accepted the offer with Microsoft anyways.</p>
<p>My son interned both at Goog and MSFT. He liked MSFT better because of housing, best mentoring program, and the fact that you get to work in the department you interviewed in. Since Goog is young, and many of the senior staff come from different companies, it has not developed a ‘culture’ or the effective mentoring program. Goog has a tendancy to dump you in random departments.</p>
<p>I am a high school senior interested in a career in software engineering. I hw e a 3.94 GPA, ranked 2nd in my class, and I am graduating with an AA degree from a cc. I applied and got accepted to 3 state universities in FL. I decided not to apply to any private universities because our household income is tight. Because of the financial aid I am offered at USF, I am strongly considering going there instead of UF and UCF. I decided I’d post here so I can get advice from all of you on anything I should do in my upcoming 4 years as a cs major. I want to be a successful software engineer and my goal is to work for Google or EA Sports. I am applying to the CSSI at Google which will happen over the summer. Any advice you want to give a future cs major.? Thanks.</p>
Hope you find your decision soon!</p>