Pros
Working as as Barista is easy and run work. There is not much you need to do to be qualified for this job, other than like coffee and have an outgoing personality. You get to be around coffee all day and taste test things. You receive a pound of free coffee every week or a package of tea. It gives you a chance to sample just about everything. Getting to know the customers is fun. The managers are usually decent enough to understand you and be flexible. You work with many students and younger people and thus the work environment is fun.
Cons
You are on your feet every day, all the time. When you work an 8 hour day, you are given one 10min break and one 30min break. It's not much of a break, but rather a chance to rest your feet for a little while or stuff your face with a quick bite to eat. Managers usually look down on workers because the turn over rate is so high and don't really expect you to stay long. As a result, people don't stay very long. Although the coffee machines have the ability to create fantastic coffee, the limited training that you receive makes it almost impossible to create the great coffee that you could.