Pros: Development: * Exciting and complex problems to work on for the foreseeable future. (Further enhanced with the Morgan Stanley acquisition) * Tech stack and processes that are constantly evolving and adapting to suit our needs. (If you don't like something, you actually have the ability to make the change! Hackathon days are a great test environment) * Fantastic mentorship and guidance available for new developers and interns. (Extremely knowledgeable and experienced senior developers and execs) * Ownership and responsibility given to all team members. Opportunities for advancement are perpetually available should you show the ability to handle them. * Performance is focused on results and deliverables. You're not on the clock. If you need to step away for an hour, just do it! * Managers are extremely well selected. All have an aptitude for helping each of their teams excel in their own ways. Your concerns are well voiced and are always handled well. * Executives are very open to feedback and changing the system to better suit the product team. (Quarterly AMAs held with all the execs where you really can bring up or ask about anything! Clear action items are taken from these meetings and updates are given on progress.) General: * Every single person in the company is given real responsibility and deadlines. There is always more available if you feel you can handle it! * The great company culture can be felt around the office. (Even since the acquisition completed, we have maintained our unique way of doing things! This is clearly going to stay.) Friday social hours, social groups, and volunteering opportunities all bolster this environment. It's amazing how many valuable contacts you can make in a non-work setting! * Extremely casual and approachable staff in every department and position, CEO included.

Cons: Development: - Complex domain that requires a significant introduction to become productive in. (Actively being addressed with a new and evolving on-boarding program, which is a good sign.) - Learning hours and workshop events are kept within the product 'branches' of the product team. Not all branches get the same amount of opportunities. (This is being addressed, but not on a large enough level yet.) - Communication issues arise within or between teams and are not brought up or aired until it is too late. (If you don't like something, speak up! Don't just hold it in and leave...) General: - Equity plan participation was discontinued with the acquisition. It may be eventually coming back, but a small salary bump for employees was the interim solution – not quite the same. We are a share plan company after all!

Pros: They provide extra days off over and above vacation time (i.e., your birthday off, three extra days in the summer).

Cons: There is a very large emphasis and pressure on becoming a leader in your team. You will be constantly pushed into participating in leadership extracurricular activities, even if this does not suit your personality. All career paths in the company lead to a role which requires leadership responsibilities, even if you are a developer. The company seems to be trying to mold all employees into the same type of person: extraverted, outgoing, and leadership material. They are forcing employees to come into the office three days a week. They cannot provide a good justification for this decision and have actually stated that they have seen that employees work very effectively and more efficiently from home. From my personal observations, a large portion of the employees at Morgan Stanley at Work are unhappy with the orders to come into the office. Management has been struggling to get people to follow the orders, as they are not seeing enough people come in each week. This makes me, as an employee, feel like Morgan Stanley does not care about what the majority of its employees want. There is no concept of a Software Development Lead who runs the Agile ceremonies. Instead, there are Software Development Managers. All Software Developers have to run the Agile ceremonies themselves. Note: This is only a con if you are not a fan of public speaking. Compared to other companies I have worked for and what I have heard from other Software Developers about their companies, Morgan Stanley at Work requires a lot of presentations and demos from its employees.

Pros: Good team. Good work. Large-scale projects. Flexibility.

Cons: Timelines Scalability Project management Vision Innovation