Pros
You get to work on really great products and you are also the user of that product which is pretty cool! The processes are quite fine tuned and it’s relatively easy getting started and stuck in to work. I also found it to be quite focussed on delivery which is nice when you enjoy your work. A lot of expertise and talent in the teams to learn from. Some amazing product managers/owners, designers and developers who are very skilled at what they do! And they don’t realise how much I gained from their knowledge and expertise! Some really nice people in the teams who are always willing to help and are very positive and can really lift the mood. They also provided a lot of nice little perks- gifts delivered, social quizzes (for the dreaded lockdown) and had very very nice offices!
Cons
Although i enjoyed the work itself and there were some great team players, in my experience there was a lot of internal politics that created a bit of friction and stress. Especially when it came to new ideas and collaboration both across products/features and sometimes within the product team and leadership. Some cliquey groups and personality clashes amongst team members meant at times there was a hostile atmosphere on some of the calls. This remained consistent and was one of the main reasons i left - felt like i didn't belong. Quite a few decisions from high level management were driving product decisions without much input or feedback from product team itself or research which made the job harder and less enjoyable - didnt feel my experience/talent/skill was fully being used or appreciated. It was also frustrating that other team members skills and talents weren't being fully recognised either and I feared they might leave. I didnt think there was a clear route for progression or career development, unless you were close with leadership, or they knew you personally.
