Pros: Nice office. Smart people. Free food.

Cons: Long hours, open desks, lack of privacy, no gym.

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: Nice perks and snacks. Friendly securities; actually, they are the most friendly people in BB.

Cons: Work is extremely boring. A lot of times, a well-trained high schooler could do the job, with much more passion. Developers are being abused by business people and threatened by upper management when they are not happy with your work. I found it funny and pathetic that even my manager is trying real hard to kiss a business analyst's ass. Most managers are incompetent and lack leadership. The reason they are managers is that a lot of people run away after 1-2 years, so upper management has to pick from what's left. A Wall Street recruiter I talked to asked me, "Why 80% of resumes he received are from Bloombergs..." You figure out why.