Pros: I like working at Google as an SRE (Site Reliability Engineer) because it is a job that combines my skills as a professional software engineer and self-taught system administrator. The work I do is quite varied, so I don't get bored doing the same thing over and over like I have done at other companies. Since Google is a well-established corporation, they can afford to provide some of the best benefits that other companies can't or don't provide. Unlike startups, you don't have to worry about the company going belly-up, nor do you have to work unreasonable hours. We have free food in the form of many cafes all over the area, each with a varied menu of foods. There's even a "concern" program that allows employees to call certain specialists for free advice. For example, you can ask a lawyer for some legal advice or talk to a therapist, amongst other services. The company even offers up to 3 months of paid medical leave. Aside from benefits, job security, and exciting projects, everyone there is very intelligent, and good peers/team-mates are essential in any corporation.

Cons: Large corporations have a certain bureaucracy and more red tape than startups, naturally. Promotions at Google require either someone to nominate you (which is rare) or self-nomination during regular performance review cycles. Performance review cycles are a big pain and a context interrupt. Many share this view, though it is believed to be a necessary evil.

Pros: Lots of smart people. A team atmosphere where it seems like most people are making a difference. Unusual perks that lead to being a member of a family, a team.

Cons: Management has spoiled us in order to become the #1 Forbes-rated company. Now they think we are a bunch of entitled assholes. They created us... now they are unhappy with what they promised us to get to #1.

Pros: You get to work on some of the biggest clusters in the world on some very hard and interesting problems. The people are generally above average, and you always have to work to make sure you're doing better. For the most part, it's a very strong meritocracy.

Cons: You might not get assigned to the groups doing the really cool things. It must be very frustrating to want to do, e.g., large-scale graph algorithms (think maps) and be stuck doing HR programming or JavaScript. Though, after 18 months, you can move to any team you want if they need engineers (and you're performing). The infrastructure is getting complex enough that there is a huge ramp-up time. While that means that it takes a while to launch a project for the first time, if you know what you're doing, you can launch a very scalable project quickly.