Pros
The company is very conservative when it comes to managing the business. They have the highest ratings from all four rating agencies. Most likely, your job will go nowhere. New York Life also pays a good salary, but this depends on your job there, of course. Their actuaries in the entry level I would guess are one of the best paid. The job is not so stressful. Deadlines do not come very often. And I do not think they have laid off people too often. In short, your job is safe and secure. Management is readily available. Good benefits. They give a small bonus at the end of the year too. In my marketing department, salaries were not bad, at least the average out in the market.
Cons
1. Very conservative culture. I do not mean this politically. I mean this in terms of business strategy. They do not like to try new things. They will stick with the basic life insurance. This actually might end up being a good thing. I wish the bonus pools were bigger, closer to that of an investment bank, because we are policy owner owned. They should care less in making their already big reserve surpluses bigger and pay much bigger bonuses.