Above average science, but average work environment
Pros
This for early career researchers specifically is a great place to work and build a network. If you can put this on your resume and get a strong letter of rec from a PI here you could very well get into a top program for grad school. Name value is important only in your early career really so I recommend it for college students or recent grads trying to get into grad school. ALSO they do have great benefits, and if your PI is great like mine then it can be a really great place for scientific growth and a really flexible job.
Cons
They underpay early career researchers--for instance, I came from a job across the street at UCSD that paid me nearly double what my starting salary was here. I took this job in spite of that and built up experience that eventually got me into grad school, but if I could have done that at UCSD I would have earned wayyy more money. Also, there are no concrete attempts to resolve any of the classic problems inside academic research, so the quality your time here will be at the mercy of your PI. Choose wisely--I lucked out with mine but know quite a few people who didn't get so lucky and are paying for it. This institute is run by PIs (who don't want to upset their colleagues with the burden of actually managing labs) and a board of trustees (who are very rich and white and removed from the daily operations). Their response to the BLM movement was fumbling at best, and at worst our concerns fell on deaf ears who simply wanted to appease everyone without actually reforming anything. This is not a job for anyone who isn't going into academic research, the PIs for the most part aren't trying to get you into med school or industry and won't help you develop what's needed to get there.
