Pros: Great compensation and perks. Opportunity to build a network of top-tier people/friends. Real meritocracy: you'll get compensated well if you deliver top results.

Cons: - Be prepared to work hard. - Need to be very self-motivated to ramp up and have an impact quickly; expectations are high. - Competitive culture (it's NYC). - Scare career growth opportunities.

Pros: Good benefits and perks for employees.

Cons: Too slow to embrace the latest technology and products. You will be lulled into a false sense of security, like a frog in a well thinks that it's the biggest water body that exists.

Pros: Lots of free food, snacks, etc.

Cons: Note that all ratings given here are from the perspective of a contractor on the WSS Core Services Team, in R&D (a truly miserable place to contract due to the supervisors that run it). Contractors on the WSS Core Services Team are treated with no support or regard. You are a cog, nothing more. You receive absolutely no support or development of any kind. Requests for information are constantly met with annoyance and dismissals. You are frequently left out of team meetings and other huddle discussions. You have no external access to systems but are required to perform exactly as a full-time employee with full access (meaning that you have to be in the building ALL the time). The WSS Core Services Team in the R&D Division is a terrible, terrible place to contract.