Pros
Cardinal is a place where advancement is in your own hands. My outlook has always been that performing great at the client is the baseline at Cardinal and to really stand out it takes more. Figuring out what "more" is can be helped by asking your practice manager and team lead. It is usually anything from presenting a topic at a practice meeting, developing internal training, or picking up extra client work. I also like how aggressive they have been with expanding their market cities. When I started 3 years ago the Charlotte office had just opened and a new one in Raleigh came shortly thereafter. The new office strategy is based on sending a couple of current employees to start it out which makes it a great way to advance if you are willing to move to a new city. The Cincinnati culture is relaxed and fun with social events all throughout the year. The events are usually monthly and can range from family friendly outings to movie nights (Dark Knight Rises this year) to sand volleyball happy hours. Typically my happy hour experience ends up with less drinking and more arguing about which scifi shows are better. Probably my favorite aspect of Cardinal is the employee development. They have a lot of classes that run year round to improve your skills as a consultant. Off the top of my head I can think of a few project management type classes and a public speaking course that seems to be a big hit. I remember when the mobile market really started emerging there was a cross-practice meetup that formed to do research on how to best get our employees ramped up.
Cons
Sometimes I have found myself busier than I would like. I mentioned earlier that I think to truly distinguish yourself it requires putting extra time in but I have gotten better at learning when enough is enough. When you get in those times of being overworked due to a client project they take care of you though. In my case the extra compensation was welcome. The good thing is that it is all volunteer driven so you can't be forced to do more than you think you can handle. This isn't really a problem with Cardinal but professional services in general. Occasionally you can get placed on a project that is important but not in the new emerging markets. When this happens its easy to not feel as noticed as the consultants spearheading new clients/technologies. The front line in those areas is very visible to the upper management as opposed to a well established client. Wish we could have a more start-up style dress code at the office but that's wishful thinking.