Mr. O’Brien talked with The Monarch School entrepreneurs about preparing for a career at Microsoft. Microsoft is well known for their software products, but the business that was created by Bill Gates in his garage is now a multi-billion dollar company with offices all over the world.

The jobs at Microsoft range from food preparation to software designer. Many of the positions in the Houston area are in sales, technical support, and training. Staff from Microsoft work at the Compaq plant to ensure that all of the products are integrated seamlessly with the computer hardware as it comes off of the assembly line. There is also a Microsoft complex that is located near the airport.

Mr. Michael O’Brien shared a film with the students about life at Microsoft and the type of person that they are interested in hiring. He emphasized that you must be willing to learn, both before you come to work, during work, and even on nights and weekends if you really want to succeed. The work is lots of fun but long days and many nights. To be successful, you must have the desire to become more than you are today. Being flexible and creative ensures that you will be able to stay with one of the largest companies in the world, and also one of the most dynamic.

Working for Microsoft is almost like working for a family organization as you spend time with the people that you work with both during work and also for social times. Monarch is also a company that encourages acceptance and diversification in their employees. They spend millions of dollars each year providing assistance to many organizations in the community that provide health care, medical assistance, and career training. Working for Bill Gates is also working for one of the most caring philanthropic men in the world. He and his wife have the Gates Foundation which is headed by his father and provides assistance worldwide for many interesting and very necessary humanitarian efforts.

Mr. O’Brien represented Microsoft as an interesting and very caring corporation. He was also very impressed with the student representatives of The Monarch School. “I really enjoyed speaking with your class. Their enthusiasm made my visit a ton of fun. You have a great bunch of kids.”

Michael O’Brien, Corporate Sales - Microsoft, Houston

STUDENT VIEWS

“I learned that Mr. O’Brien is one of those people who is very proud of his job." – Bethany

“I learned that Microsoft lets learning disabled people work for them, and I did not know that.” - Adam

“It was interesting to see Bill Gates in 3D and see how you can use a human’s voice for computer commands” – Robin