Microsoft · Primly Community

Microsoft new grad / entry level salary 2026: what I got and what classmates reported

finance_faye · 4 replies

Just signed my Microsoft new grad offer and collected data from about 12 classmates who went through the process this cycle. Putting it here because the numbers on older sites are wildly out of date.

My offer (L59, SWE, Redmond): Base: $136,000 Bonus target: 10% RSU: $150,000 over 4 years Sign-on: $20,000 (year 1 only, clawback if you leave before 12 months)

Year-1 total: around $183,000 at target.

Other L59 data points from classmates, 2026 new grad cycle: L59 SWE, Redmond: $132k-$140k base range across 8 people L59 SWE, remote: $128k (one data point, lower sign-on too) L59 PM, Redmond: $130k base, $120k RSU, 10% bonus, $18k sign L59 Data Scientist, Redmond: $131k base, $130k RSU, 10% bonus, $20k sign

For comparison, the Amazon NGJ offers I saw in my cohort were $129k base with $80k sign-on (they front-load heavily). Meta NGJ in my network was higher on RSU but the total was similar.

Microsoft's new grad process was three rounds for most people: online assessment (timed coding, two problems, LeetCode medium difficulty), then a phone screen, then a full loop (4-5 rounds over one day or two half-days). The loop included two to three coding rounds, one behavioral, and one design-lite round that was more of a technical discussion than a full system design.

I'm genuinely a little surprised how competitive the new grad number is. I expected FAANG to be substantially better but at L59 in Redmond, Microsoft is within range. The catch is you give up the higher ceiling: at L5/L6 Microsoft pays less than Meta or Google for equivalent levels.

Happy to answer questions from anyone going through the new grad process right now.

4 replies

jp_newgrad

The Amazon comp structure comparison is so useful, thank you. I have both Microsoft and Amazon in flight right now and I've been struggling to compare them apples to apples because of the sign-on weighting difference.

pivot_pat

Did any of your classmates negotiate the new grad offer? I always hear 'new grad offers are non-negotiable' but I've also seen people say they moved the sign-on at least.

hardware_hugo

Two people in my cohort negotiated. Neither moved the base. One got the sign-on bumped from $15k to $20k by mentioning they had another offer. The other got an additional $5k in RSUs. So it's not nothing but the flexibility is limited compared to senior levels.

director_dee

The level ceiling point is real. Microsoft's new grad band is solid, but if you're very ambitious about maximizing lifetime earnings, the leveling path to principal / L67+ at Microsoft tends to be slower than at some other large cos. Something to factor in if you're thinking 10 years out, not just year 1.