Pros
FINRA Technology Rocks - in general. There are ample opportunities to be creative and make a contribution to the FINRA mission through technology. FINRA chugs > 50 billion transactions per day and assembles a wide variety of data in support its regulatory obligations. That comes with many interesting technical and data challenges waiting for smart people to solve. If you have what it takes, then you can go far here. There is no shortage of challenging projects, only a shortage of truly talented people.
So what does it take? Initiative, outside the box thinking, willing to go outside your comfort zone, common sense, and a collaborative work ethic. Someone who is willing to step out, and maybe step on a few toes in the process, will find this to be an invigorating place to work. Put in the energy, then it will likely pay off. If you don't put in the effort and just do your 9-5 thing, you won't get much out of FINRA other than a pay check.
Benefits are good. 401k, healthcare, etc are as good or better than any company I've worked for. Annual bonus is icing on the cake. The pension plan is the cherry on top. Additionally, FINRA technology offers plenty of opportunities to learn new technologies. They will pay for conferences and training, tech teams offer brown bag sessions, technology days, and open collaborative wikis for technology sharing. Work schedule is flexible. Lot's of people trying to do the right thing.
Cons
FINRA faces many of the same organizational challenges as other large companies. It is a bureaucracy, hindered by old culture, government oversight, and the good old boy's network. This is orthogonal to the goals of an agile technology company.
