Pros: There aren't too many rules or established ways of doing things, so if you're the type who wants to try out new things, write new code, or that kind of thing, you'd love it. You won't hear "no" as long as it doesn't cost the company money. If it doesn't cost any money, then you can do virtually anything you want. Probably half the cool stuff on our site comes from ideas people had and tried out on their own. It is definitely a good place for people without much else going on in their lives, because you're not going to have time for anything else.

Cons: The hours are very long. Expect 12-hour days at a minimum, and you will work every weekend. They give everybody a laptop, so you can work at home. Some of that 12 hours is at home at night too. Everybody has a BlackBerry because it's expected that you be available at all times, even when you're on vacation. If you want work-life balance, start running in the other direction. It's basically an environment of working the person as hard as you can, for as long as you can. When they collapse and die, people say they just didn't have what it takes.

Pros: The customer base is huge, so you get to work at a scaled level. Plus, you can switch internally really easily.

Cons: You need to manage your work versus personal time on your own.

Pros: Challenging, nice coworkers, high career growth potential.

Cons: Work can seem boring at times. Also, you are more on your own when it comes to learning new things, so there's less hand-holding, which is bad for some engineers.