Vantaggi
Some deal teams are lean and you get a lot of responsibility and interaction with senior bankers and clients as an analyst. More opportunities to run a deal. Jefferies used to provide good perks (lunch, mobile plan reimbursement, huge discount to LA Sports Club for analysts, etc.) but then they disappeared during the downturn.
Svantaggi
During the downturn, they laid off junior bankers first and then made aggressive strategic senior hires. They claim that analyst bonuses were on par with the rest of the street, but very few actually get that top bonus relative to other banks. Certain IB groups have a terrible reputation. Tech (formerly Jefferies Broadview) used to do great deals, but now run by mostly political senior bankers.