Pros
The academic-like environment, the noble cause, the great people, the beautiful campus, the salary, the challenging work, the status and the vacation time. The location looks like a college campus and there are some parts of the organization that feel very academic. Everyone in the organization seems to be mindful of what we are trying to do; convinced of our higher purpose. With that brings a strong sense of community and responsibility for excellence to your colleagues. Everyone seems to know we are working to benefit test-takers, their parents and institutions and therefore behaves in ways that will ultimately benefit them.
Cons
The hierarchy and entrenched traditional ways of working are big downsides. New ways of thinking or doing things are not encouraged company-wide. You have to wait for permission to speak to suggest something new. It is a top down organization. You could be sitting next to someone fervently working to solve the same problem you are working on but because communication and the sharing of ideas, even amongst colleagues in the same department, is not encouraged you will not know it until it is too late - like when you both solicit input from the same person in another division, or talk to an external colleague or vendor.
