Raymond Chen

How Microsoft Is Different from School

If all you knew about working for a technology company came from recruiting videos, you’d think that you’d spend your days playing foosball and drinking beer, which if you think about it, is pretty much what you do at school all day already, right? Alas, things are not always as they seem. This talk compares the school software development experience with that in a real-world technology company, where the scale is bigger and the stakes are higher. Some aspects of the experience are better, others are worse, and still others are simply different. Learn what skills you’re missing and prepare yourself for life "on the outside."

About Raymond Chen

Raymond Chen is a programmer at Microsoft Corporation who has been involved in the evolution of Windows for more than 15 years. In 2003, Chen began a Web site known as The Old New Thing which has grown in popularity far beyond his wildest imagination, a development which still gives him the heebie-jeebies. The Web site spawned a book, coincidentally also titled The Old New Thing (Addison Wesley 2007). Chen also writes the Windows Confidential column for Microsoft TechNet? magazine. He often loses things by moving them around.

Time and Location

Saturday, October 17th at 11:15 AM in 1404 Siebel Center