Pros: This is the kind of place where you feel honored to be among the smart people working here. Lots of opportunity for advancement and to learn, both formally and informally. Very cool perks, like free admission into any museum you can think of and great company parties. Having a TV studio in the building meant occasional celebrity sightings.

Cons: Long hours, usually worked until 8 p.m., and I was too worn out to do anything after work. Senior management would sometimes tell us that we needed to stop working so hard, but it was just lip service. The culture and the project deadlines required constant long hours. I felt guilty leaving at 6 p.m. There seemed to be a lack of organization at the team lead and management levels, which trickled down to the developers. The open work environment basically meant constant interruptions. It was hard to focus and get anything done until the end of the day when most people had gone home. On the other side of training is the unofficial requirement to spend time training new developers. Normally, when building a team, this is a good thing, but in the two years I was there, I trained five temporary consultants. So, instead of building a team, all that training just went to completing their short-term project, then they were gone.

Pros: Great compensation and benefits, excellent, driven, talented co-workers. If you find finance and software fascinating, it would be hard to find a better match.

Cons: The environment can be stressful at times due to the push to get things to production quickly. Global financial markets operate constantly, 24/7 (or almost), and you can be on call at any time.

Pros: Good compensation, especially the benefits and paid time off. Some really smart people as peers.

Cons: Career advancement is hard. Management decisions may be hard to fathom.