Pros
There is still some of the HP culture. There is respect for the employees. There is a lot of autonomy in many jobs to prove your worth. Loyalty to peers and colleagues is strong. To management - less.
Cons
Employees would have done anything for HP but that is not the case for Agilent. Benefits have been drastically cut back (they will say they are in line with industry benchmarking). Very expense management driven, but very uneven. "Field" is at the top of the heap; they spent and travel without control until the 4th quarter panic. "Factory" is next. They manage expenses reasonably. Global infrastructure/finance and esp. IT is the worst. Very much out sourcing and off shoring. You have to beg and justify and justify more to spend money. In GIO, esp. IT, you feel more like a contractor than an employee. Agilent requires a lot of personal discipline because it will suck the life out of you if you let it. Work -Life balance is a challenge.