Pros
I learned how to be a better coder and got fluent in R. They teach very good, rigorous coding practices for "statistical programming" type work. Also learned about using Git which was helpful.
Cons
TOO REGIMENTED: You have to fill out 40 hours on a time sheet...even if you don't have enough work or have too much work. There's a lot of pressure to get to 40 some how. ISOLATED: You have your "supervisor" who staffs you on projects (but doesn't work with you otherwise). You might work 3-5 projects at a time. They all have their own deadlines etc. and you need to let them know what works and discuss with your supervisor on that. That said...if you DO push back...sometimes they just kinda say "no get it done on time" or whatever. HARD TO GET AHEAD: Very rigid/formal promotion structure. If you want to work on X type of work or learn Y skill, you can tell your supervisor...but no garuntee you end up on that project. It's also hard to know what type of work is out there. GRUNT WORK: Too much grunt work. I was given lots of "put field codes into this table" tasks...like for hundreds of cells across dozens of tables. ISOLATED WORK: Often times you're tossed on to a project to finish X task and then you leave. It's hard to make strong connections. Also, sometimes the task you're thrown on is useless grunt work. HOLIER THAN THOU ATTITUDE ABOUT BEING "WORKED OWNED": They love to talk about that but you can't actually vote on stuff like how many vacation days you should get. I wish we had a union.