Pros
You get to work on robots that go to space and do amazing science. You won't find this kind of work anywhere else. At the end of a long project, you'll be able to say that something you contributed to is in space or on another planet.
Cons
- Poor pay compared to industry. You will be renting forever unless you want to commute 1+ hours each way. - HR is ignorant of the fact that Pasadena is a very expensive area. Good luck negotiating salary, especially if you are a woman or a minority. You'll be gaslighted until your hair catches fire. - Management is ridiculously bad, especially in the engineering sections and divisions. They promote the best and/or favorite engineers to be managers, which kills two birds with one stone: you now have a bad manager who doesn't want to be there and you've lost a brilliant technical person. Well done management. - Sexist old boys club. As a woman, I lived with daily gaslighting, questioning of my qualifications and ability to do my job, and highly inappropriate jokes, both verbally and in emails. In one particular incident, the presenter in a meeting said that he preferred working with men in the lab because "women tend to cry when things get difficult." The higher ranks are overloaded with old, white, baby boomer managers and technical experts that are clinging onto the old ways like their lives depend on it. Don't even bother trying to change their minds because it's not going to happen. - No support. From anyone. You go to your manager with a problem? Watch them spend the next 20 minutes explaining to you that you're simply over-reacting and should maybe try harder/work more hours. Ah, the sweet smell of gas. That is if they'll even make time in their "busy"? schedule to meet with you in person. Wait 2 months, then watch as they lose their mind and yell at you when that thing you asked for their help with threatens to delay a milestone. Unless you're the part of the project that is so on fire it's going to delay the launch, your requests for help will go unheard. - No opportunity for advancement unless enough managers decide they like you. - Rampant favoritism. Managers and high up technical people pick who they like and if you're not one of the lucky ones, you won't go anywhere. Those that are chosen get all the help and support they desire and are listened to in meetings because they have someone that will back them up. - Remember that scene from Star Trek when the Centaurian slug burrows its way into Captain Pike's head? That's kind of what it feels like in a JPL design review, except instead of a slug eating at your brain it's the words of the reviewers. It is brutal. There is no respect if you have been there <~15 years If you're <5, I'd suggest covert kleenex earplugs. You will be yelled at, told you're an idiot, etc.... Reviewers have gotten out of their chairs and started smacking the projection of a powerpoint on a whiteboard. Poor whiteboard. - If you're seen as brilliant and valuable enough to the lab, you're safe from discipline no matter what you do. Managers will cover up anything and everything. - Everything is a competition between employees due to the practice of ranking employees for raises. Employees will battle with each other for resources and throw their teammates under the bus to preserve their image to management. - Poor training, no standard documents/procedures. Reinventing the wheel is rampant. Documentation? HA. - Bad parking. Road to the east lot floods when it rains. Watch out for glass that gets carried into the wash, it'll shred your tires.