Pros
Learn all stages of the acquisition and due dilligence process early in your career vs. working on an assembly line at a large conglomerate. Entrepreneurial acquisitions teams (2 person teams assigned territories / can go anywhere in the U.S. for off-market deals). Ability to buy just about anything that makes sense. Not confined to any boxes, aside from trying to play investment cycles. Not a fund motivated to deploy whatever raised capital is available....this is an extremely disciplined investor. All said, it's a great learning opportunity. Career trajectory was good for a person at the firm 5 years. Hard work required. Much of the profits will end up going to charities including the principal's foundation.
Cons
At least in the acquisitions department with 2-person teams, it's about your direct boss more than the greater company. Culture is relatively old-school and penny pinching = don't expect many events, social aspect is what you make of it, office is quiet and it's not a big priority for the business to curate strong relationships between employees / departments. Like many real estate PE investment firms, one person ultimately runs the show. The principal has been around the block and has been successful for 50+ years. He will greatly decide on deals that get done, what the targets are through real estate cycles, etc. Not a ton of advice is taken in earnest from his teams. Fair enough when it's your money, but the company would definitely benefit from taking action on collective opinions.