Microsoft vs Google Graduate Scheme 2027: Which Should You Apply To?

“Be your authentic self, put your best foot forward and apply for that role!”

Oiza Sadiq, Associate Product Marketing Manager at Google, on applying. One person’s view of one role.
Source: Google blog

The Microsoft vs Google graduate scheme question has a twist: neither company runs a fixed UK graduate scheme with one opening and one closing date. Both hire early-career talent into individual roles, so the real choice is between two different routes. Microsoft hires into early-in-profession roles and then enrols qualifying hires in Aspire, a development programme. Google also posts early-career roles one at a time: as of 17 October 2026 its open London routes are BS/MS internships for Summer 2027, including Associate Product Manager (APM), Software Engineering/SRE and others. Read our individual guides to the Microsoft graduate scheme and the Google graduate scheme for the full detail on each. If you want a fixed-cohort alternative, see Amazon vs Google and the Amazon graduate scheme.

Microsoft vs Google graduate scheme at a glance

The single biggest difference: dated route vs rolling roles

Google’s clearest live early-career routes are dated: the London Software Engineering/SRE internship closes on 23 October 2026 and the APM internship before 13 November 2026, with rolling review, so waiting costs you. Microsoft has no equivalent graduate window. You watch its early-in-profession careers page, apply to a specific role when it appears, and Aspire follows if you start in a qualifying role. In short: with Google you plan around a calendar, with Microsoft you plan around alerts.

Microsoft vs Google graduate scheme 2027: pay compared

Neither company publishes a single graduate salary. The figures below are not like-for-like, so read them as signals, not a league table.

The Microsoft range comes from a single sales posting, not from a graduate scheme, so it does not tell you what a graduate engineer earns. Google’s numbers come from a handful of Glassdoor submissions, not from Google. Our own Amazon vs Google comparison uses the same Google figures. To see any salary after tax, use Debut’s Paycheck Calculator. See Microsoft’s UK pay and benefits page too, though we could not open it to read the detail.

What the job actually feels like

Both employers describe learning from people around you rather than sitting in a classroom. Microsoft says Aspire is built around immersive learning, mentorship and community events. Google has published no rotation structure for its London roles on the pages we could read. For a Microsoft voice, the only named quote we found is from Chris Bishop of Microsoft Research Cambridge, who said in 2018 the lab was “keen to nurture the next generation of talent”. That was about a UK AI residency for graduates, a different programme, so read it as context, not a description of today’s hiring. Source: Microsoft UK Stories. We could not find a recent named Microsoft graduate quote, so we have not invented one.

Programme structure

Microsoft Graduate Scheme vs Google programme structure. Microsoft hires into a role first. Aspire is a 1+ year learning and development journey for new hires who meet its eligibility rules, and Microsoft says eligibility depends on hiring pathway, employee status and role. You cannot apply to Aspire directly. Google also hires role by role: its London APM posting is a 12-week internship, and it has not published the length or structure of a full-time APM programme; engineering roles hire you into a specific team.

Application process

How to apply. At Microsoft you create a profile on the careers site, apply to a role, complete an initial interview and, if selected, a final virtual interview with one-to-one meetings. Depending on the role you may be asked to write code or share a project. Microsoft’s hiring tips include preparation videos. Google has not published its stages on the pages we could read; its postings confirm an application with a CV and transcript, rolling review and a wait that can take 90+ days. Candidate accounts of later stages are reported only. For general habits, see our assessment centre guide and survival guide, and make your CV readable with our ATS-friendly resume guide.

Locations

Every Google UK early-career posting we read in full is in London. Microsoft’s postings state the location each time. Our one live example, the Account Executive role, is London-based with three days a week in the office, but that is one role, so check yours.

Deadlines

Google’s London Software Engineering/SRE internship for Summer 2027 closes on 23 October 2026, the APM, APMM and Forward Deployed Engineering internships on 13 November 2026 and the Product Deployment Engineer internship on 20 November 2026, all with rolling review. Microsoft has no graduate deadline: each posting sets its own, so set job alerts on the careers site or join its Talent Network.

Benefits

Google’s benefits page loads with JavaScript and could not be read, so we do not list Google benefits here. For Microsoft, benefits sit on its UK pay and benefits page and in each posting, so confirm them in your offer.

A word from people already doing the job

Oiza Sadiq’s advice at Google is to be your authentic self and apply. Chris Bishop’s quote is about Microsoft Research hiring graduates in 2018, not about Aspire. Both are single views. We have not found two like-for-like quotes from current graduates on each side, and we would rather say so than invent them.

Microsoft vs Google graduate scheme 2027: which one should you apply to?

Choose Google if you are a penultimate or final-year student in EMEA with the right to work, you want a defined route with a deadline, and you are aiming at product or software roles. Choose Microsoft if you want to apply role by role across engineering, product, marketing, technical support, data science or customer success, and you prefer to move when a role opens rather than around one window. Many applicants apply to both. For other tech options, compare IBM, Amazon and BT, or browse the full Graduate Scheme hub.

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