Pros
If I had to do it all over again, I would absolutely take the job; but I would come in to Exponent with a 3 to 6 year exit plan. -Worked with collection of the smartest and most driven scientists and engineers I've ever met. Some of them were very fun to work with. -Work was often exciting and relevant to big news stories. -Grew "soft skills" including writing, marketing, and client management. -In theory, hours could be flexible, as long as work got done. -Big name clients offered interesting full time employee options. -Solicited by head-hunters for interesting full time employment options. -Exponent paid for certification testing (e.g. P.E. license) and associated continuing education courses or materials. -Mentors were easy to find in the early days.
Cons
-Work required being on-call almost 24-7. In my experience this became more true as time went on. -Travel (flying with at least one overnight stay) with less than a week notice (sometimes same day) was very typical and occurred several times per year. -Was not uncommon for consulting staff to quit within a year. -Moral drops after the "novelty" of project work wears off. -No monetary incentive for mentors. -No training on how to be a "manager" associated with being promoted to "manager". -Mentors were harder to find and less useful after a few years.