Pros
Pay: The pay, at first, when I joined FactSet was generous as a graduate. People: The people on your level are the ones that make FactSet a great place to work. I can honestly say that in the time I have had here, it has been an excellent experience and I have never had tension with any of my co-workers. Many of whom, have become friends. Environment: As a Software Engineer you are not client facing so are able to feel comfortable in your working environment to get coding done. People are able to talk to one another and share ideas and have general discussions. Technologies: FactSet, fundamentally built a lot of the tools creating in-house propriety technologies, however that is slowly changing and transitional tools and skills are being brought into the company. Career: If you wish to have job security and a guarantee that you will be rewarded for loyalty - FactSet is ideal. Those who have been at the company a long time and moved into management are rather happy with their roles. I am unable to predict the future, but modern technologies are now being introduced to FactSet which may mean newer engineers have better opportunities.
Cons
Pay: After realisation of the competitiveness in other companies, I realised pay here is definitely not matching software companies in London. As years went by, I realised that people in other companies were receiving bonuses and also larger pay rises which made me sceptical of the salaries here for Software Engineers. Alongside that fact, in company wide meetings we were all told that Sales would receive a "Chairman's Club", which meant they would have luxurious settings in Europe, US etc for meetings when they met their targets - meaning Software Engineers were angered and frustrated by this. People: Regarding the management, it seems managers are not assessed, they are given the role of manager when they have been here for some time rather than actually accessing their skills. I think a real interview process is necessary when deciding who should become a manager - not word of mouth or "You have been here some time and proven you're a good Software Engineer", leading code and people are two different things. Environment: The company promotes a start-up culture but that is beginning to fade as policies are being put in place that is beginning to remove this kind of culture. Technologies: As a Software Engineer that had been in the company for many years, newer, transitional, technologies are now being brought into the company which I do not have much experience with - meaning when looking for new career choices in Software Engineering they are limited due to the older legacy technologies where most of the time was spent when coding. Career: Motivation is key, unless you are self-motivated, work can become mundane. At times exciting projects arise but if you demonstrate that you are a trustworthy employee, the company will rely on you to do tasks that are irrelevant to your personal goals and achievements you wish to reach.