Pros
I never thought this much flexibility was even possible. People come and go as they want, as long as you put in your 40 hours and are available in the office 5-6 hours a day, 4 days a week, you can make up the time elsewhere/at home. Very family friendly. Of course, when proposal season or a big deliverable comes around there are some (rare) weekend sprints, but generally, your time is well-respected and comp-time is available (unofficially, but liberally).
Leadership takes vacation and has reasonable expectations of employees workload balance to avoid burnout. They really value long-term employees.
There are numerous opportunities to try new projects and do cool tasks in new ways. If you prove your expertise early, you'll be trusted fully.
Cons
The pay is low. I turn down 20-40% raises from other companies about once a month simply because they can't match the flexibility or self-management Econometrica gives me. No point in making 30% more just to work 50% more hours and enjoy each hour less.
If you don't have a masters degree, you'll have double trouble getting enough pay to afford the DMV.
Again, pay is the con. But the pros outweigh it. Especially if you have a family or are in grad school at night, or want to work from home partially.
There is ZERO set career path. I don't mind that personally, as I came in with specific expertise and come from a consulting background where I managed myself fully. But if you expect A -> B -> C career growth, this isn't the place.
You have to be very proactive on what projects you are interested in, what tools you want to learn, what skills you want to gain, etc. Very easy to sit back, relax, and do the minimum (& get the minimum). No micromanagement also means no-one pushing you to develop skills independently of X or Y project.
