Vantaggi
Some of the tangible benefits are unmatched - great perks, including 100% tuition remission on undergraduate courses and 90% of graduate courses (but taxed). There are a lot of people who care very deeply about social issues and working at a globally recognized research institution will give you access to some of the brightest minds in the world. But I worked on the administrative side, not academic.
Svantaggi
Where to start. - President is cold and unwelcoming. I introduced myself once to him in a dining hall and it was very clear to him that I was being an inconvenience. Rude and disrespectful. - Out of touch senior administration. The people who make the decisions don't spend time with students, so there is a lot of discontent among students. - Politics. Oh, the politics. It's expected anywhere, but at BU, it felt like I was playing a game where only certain people knew the rules. - Blatant nepotism. People get hired and promoted based on their families' contributions to the school (financial or otherwise), even if they don't have the credentials. - No clarity of work expectations. This is tied to politics. Because management does not make it clear to people what it means to be a good employee, people who are liked by their supervisors move up. The sheer lack of any sense of objectivity really bothered me.