Can I get a job at MS without a degree?
Posted Thursday, November 20 2008 by The JobsBloggers
I have tons of real world experience but no degree. I have seriously deep industry knowledge, accomplishments and “next wave” roadmaps for my industry. Do I have any shot at getting a MSFT recruiter’s attention? How about giving a guy a few clues, eh?
- Degree of Interest
Dear "Degree of Interest": Great question. Microsoft has always prided itself on finding the best talent anywhere, regardless of where it comes from. Yes, we do a lot of recruiting on college campuses and that gets a lot of press. But we also spend a great deal of time scouring resumes, job fairs, industry events and shows looking for people with great talent. In the beginning a degree can be important. CS grads know the basics, know the theory, and have a head start when it comes to our entry-level jobs. On a foundational level, that is a good thing. But once you are out of school and working in the industry, experience is critical. I recruit for the Core OS Division. This is the group within MSFT that ensures all of the deep kernel processes of the OS work seamlessly. We need incredibly talented, technically-deep engineers to solve some of the toughest computer science problems there are. When I am reviewing resumes, I ask the following questions:
- What do you want to do?
- What have you done so far?
- Have you grown in each experience?
- Are there any gaps in your experience?
- Have you taken any risks?
- What degree do you have?
- What school did you attend?
School is important, but it's only one thing -- and as you can see from this list, it's more of a data point than a barrier to entry. Be honest in your resume, target and limit the amount of jobs you apply to and make sure they match your skills, abilities and experience -- and then do your homework. Once you are in the interview process (phone interview, tech interview, face-to-face) your educational background will not be a primary part of the evaluation. Can you code? Can you solve challenging problems? Can you work effectively with a team? Can you resolve conflict? Can you make others great? Can you contribute and grow? These are the questions we seek to answer.
P.S. – I can think of at least one relatively successful Microsoftie that famously did not get a degree: Bill Gates.
Apply away and see you on campus soon.
-Greg
Dear JobsBlog:
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Comments
Hi Blogger
What about international people without degree?
:)
This is actually true of the industry in general -- the effect of having a (Bachelor's, at least) degree drops off over a couple years as your industry experience is built up. A degree will give you an advantage in an entry-level job, but after a few years not so much. All a degree says is that someone's vouching that 1) you were exposed to some widely-standardized set of material, and 2) you performed at some minimum level regarding it. In a few years, you've hopefully exceeded in both counts.
The degree itself doesn't *have* to be in CS, either -- mine's in physics and astronomy. Remember that the folks who started this industry didn't have degrees in it, either.
Nice answer to the question, and heartening. I've been coding for a couple of decades at many corporations but my B.A. is in Film Production, a degree I have never once used in my lifetime. I'd love to work for Microsoft but I'd need to have a sweet setup like Rob Conery where he works mainly from home and goes to Redmond on a schedule rather than move there. And, well, I'm good, but I ain't no Rob Conery.
@EricTN: Similar situation with me -- I taught myself BASIC back in 1982. I got my degree because I liked the math, toys, and pretty pictures.
Though my degree was for my enjoyment, it *did* give me some consideration for a temp job (cataloging court evidence of a scientific nature) and sympathy for my first industry position (hiring manager had just left a post-doc program in solar astrophysics because, as he put it, he wanted to do something more than six people on the planet understood, or cared about).
Bill Gates is the leader here. He has inspired so many out there to think something out of the box and drop out :-)
I am from the Caribbean and would love to work at Microsoft. The job opportunities here are scarce, my area of interest would be something in technical support. I am not qualified, by I do have high school diploma, I recently completed my CISCO IT Essential I & II courses and did my CompTIA A+ along with my CompTIA Server+ pending. I have mostly been doing odd jobs fixing PC's and maintenance of small networks for the past few years. I wondering, what would my 'degree' of experience qualify for me as a job at Microsoft. I am willing to start at the bottom.
I'd also like to know if there are possibilites for foreigners if they don't have a degree. I would fit in a Windows localization role, worked several years on localizing Windows (at a loc vendor) but lack the degree. Is it true that without one you can't get a work permit for the US? If yes, is this going to change under the new administration next year?
cheers
Tom
Just out of interest do you nkow the % of people you employ that do and don't have a degree?
Greg,
I knew this would strike a chord if it was used in the newsletter. How gratifying that only a matter of days after posting the question I see it front and center!!!
This has rekindled my desire to create a role for myself at MSFT!
Today the newsletter, Tomorrow the MSFT campus!!!
(Now to begin my work on the master plan)
I would love to do some work for Microsoft from home but I'm willing to travel to Redmond cause I live in Seattle area. As you will see, my knowlege with computers is very limited but even there, I know that if given the chance I could do a lot for Microsoft if I put my mind to it; perhaps, typing up simple documents for them, researching, texting, interacting with customers online; taking pictures with my Logitech webcam; and everything else in between non-technical. Check out this video I made with my Logitech webcam which I posted to YouTube, click on url below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Md3ZcP5hUSA