Pros
First Student: a unique place to work in that it is a Federally Funded Research and Development Center (FFRDC). As an FFRDC, it is a private not-for-profit corporation chartered in the public interest. (Actually, MITRE operates three FFRDCs; one for DoD, one for the FAA, and one for the Department of the Treasury).
Cons
As an FFRDC, the total number staff and the total dollar revenue than can be applied to the sponsor organizations is capped by Congress (this is true of all FFRDCs). This cap (or ceiling as it is known within MITRE) is rarely increased and when it is, it is usually by a small amount. In fact, in the mid 1990s, the ceiling was decreased in line with the declining DoD budgets which resulted in limited reductions in force (layoffs).