Vantaggi
Good benefits for expats, interesting work-life balance if you have a family
Svantaggi
The work has become pointless since the dramatic increase of the production targets after 2010. Patent examiners have to complete every year a certain number of "products", e.g. searches or final actions such as grants. Reaching these high targets is possible only if you sacrifice quality. If you do so, your daily work becomes a kind of dull assembly line job. If you are a skilled or talented scientist, stay away from this job and do something else. On the other hand, if you are unskilled or just want to enjoy the benefits without caring about the quality of your work, you may feel at home at the EPO. Don't believe the narrative of the EPO HR department about the "great environment", many new examiners actually loose interest in the job after only a few years. That's extremely problematic when you have to collaborate with them on a daily basis