Pros: Good learning - something new to learn every day. Good management - easy to communicate with higher management and business. Salaries/Bonuses/Healthcare/Incentives - among the best in the country. Very beautiful office - this definitely counts in liking your job. Opportunities for fast growth. 20 vacation days - much better than many companies.

Cons: Hectic. Need to slog sometimes. Some legacy code to be dealt with at times, but this depends on the team. No cubicles, just desks. This makes it hard for personal matters, like checking your emails or answering personal calls. And your manager, his manager, his manager – all eyes are on you. Manhattan: Commuting time is high.

Pros: The company seems to take reasonably good care of you, with a good compensation package and benefits, and a bright, lively working environment. There is a lot of expertise around to learn from if your objective is to develop an understanding of financial markets. The work is fast-paced, and you will seldom find yourself bogged down in your job. The ability to handle pressure and look at problems from a business perspective is valued. Good kitchens.

Cons: The codebase is old and can be frustrating at times. Core technical people who want to develop their technical skill set will be put off by the demand to get the solution out to customers, often sacrificing quality. If you're in a team that works on legacy products rather than new ones, the skills you pick up will be in proprietary tech that is not transferable. The flat hierarchy (3 levels from a new, fresh-from-college hire to the head of R&D) may not leave room for advancement that you can show on your resume.

Pros: Free food, which is not all that great. A monopoly position in its market helps allow for massive wastage of resources (see below).

Cons: Innumerable. Huge bureaucracy, ritualistic, cult-like atmosphere, bizarre Big Brother monitoring everywhere. Does everyone really need to know where and when you badged in and out? Entire teams that do little to nothing. Regular need to tell managers to pi** off when they attempt to bully you. Mind-numbingly boring work. Early 1980s technology hasn't changed a bit. And lastly, now that the owner has returned, having exhausted his political adventure, it is like Odysseus returning to Ithaca, and there will be major lettings go, new joiners first.