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.

Pros: Most intelligent coworkers you could ever imagine. Wonderful feeling of camaraderie. Employees are trusted, respected, and treated like adults to get on with their work. Very flat management structure means you're not left feeling powerless. Everyone is empowered to make a difference and to be heard. Amazing benefits.

Cons: Most intelligent coworkers you could ever imagine can lead to impostor syndrome. You need to be careful to balance your work and personal life. The drive to sometimes work too hard comes from within when you work at Google; it's not something that's pushed on you by the company or colleagues.

Pros: Great projects and culture, plenty of nice and interesting people to work with. It's easy to get involved in whatever interests you. Also plenty of resources and supportive management, which allows you to be ambitious and still succeed. Perks are also great.

Cons: I can't imagine working somewhere else, even for much more money.