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Subject:Re: career advice please! From:"Caroline Briggs (Pachaud) (Exchange)" <carolinp -at- EXCHANGE -dot- MICROSOFT -dot- COM> Date:Tue, 17 Aug 1999 20:32:08 -0700
Hmm. I understand the point about working for a small, hungry company, and
back before I joined Microsoft I worked for a few of them. Paychecks
occasionally bounced, and once or twice contracts ended before I expected
them to, but on the whole the work was exciting, fast-paced, dynamic, etc.
Generally, all the things that people tell you working for a start-up will
be. Oh, and you get a huge range of experience, because typically you wear
97 hats, sometimes simultaneously. That said, being a Microsoft employee is
the best thing that's ever happened to me. Exciting, fast-paced, dynamic,
and my checks NEVER bounce. Truth is, you need to define the work
environment that's best for you, and that might mean taking jobs at a whole
range of companies before you settle down somewhere.You might also want to
think through the contractor/employee thing. I'm the employee type--never
was really happy as a contractor--but you need to figure out which is best
for you and plan accordingly.