Vantaggi
It's always nice to say you worked at this level in the worlds largest asset manager. The bonuses when we were BGI were great. It's yet to be seen what they'll turn out like at the end of a full year in the merged BlackRock, even so the compensation package is pretty good. You won't have to spend hours writing Powerpoint presentations to senior management. Working examples work best to convince people.
Svantaggi
Technology issues and a lack of anything approaching a mature software development process results in most folks being tied up in a daily routine of production emergencies and strong-arm tactics. A preoccupation with reinventing the wheel on technology problems which have been solved in the larger finance software community. The solutions that are produced aren't very good. Communication is rather poor. The culture is not one which values diversity of thought or inclusion.