Pros
Great mission Access to great technology and resources Some bright and helpful colleagues
Cons
Favoritism/Office politics lead to inappropriate promotions and differential treatment Leadership can be very dismissive and indecisive on projects DEI work not credited seriously, especially if on a science track Promotion process is painfully opaque Job family tree guidelines are vague so they can be weaponized against you or used for inappropriate rewarding depending on manager's interest in your career RA track is very limiting, you can do so much but yet be tied down to unfair standards especially if your manager is unsupportive. There is no serious consideration given to how to keep RA's at the institute and transition them to Scientist tracks without PhD Each Institute has different culture, which makes it difficult to advocate for policy change