Pros
Most of your fellow corps members are absolutely brilliant and driven (if not Type A) people who, assuming they survive institute, will put in 110% to close the achievement gap. Every single staff person at TFA truly believes in the organization's mission--which was a bit tiring after two grueling years but, when I first joined, a breath of fresh air. Many opportunities for professional development and networking.
Cons
This was and probably will be the toughest job of my life. I stuck it out for two years but decided I'm not meant to be a teacher, at least to inner-city children. They deserve more. After only six weeks of training in the summer, I never felt completely prepared to adequately give my kids the education they truly needed, and that feeling only grew as the school years went on. The placement and interview process at the beginning was a complete nightmare-- several of my friends ended up not being able to teach at all that year. As far as I'm concerned, and especially due to budget cuts, the process has not improved. Long hours, little pay, little recognition. Teach for America should not be a stepping stone to law school or graduate school. It should be treated as a pathway to building a nationwide corps of excellent teachers. Unfortunately, both the organization and corps members do not treat TFA this way. All throughout my second year, I heard people talking about their interviews with McKinsey and other big shot consulting firms and business schools. I would say, for the time, tears and love you'll put into this job, only do it if you know in your heart that you could be a teacher for longer than 5 years. If, however, you complete your 2 years and decide it's not for you, then fine. But don't use TFA as a resume builder. These kids deserve more than that.