Pros
You get to work remotely, on your own schedule, and when I started contributing authors had a lot of control over which writing assignments they wanted to work on. It was a good way for me to get a few articles published while being in school and build a bit of a portfolio.
Cons
The whole business model changed and although they never "fired" anyone, writers like me with no credentials in other fields like finance or whatever pretty much got pushed out. The company was very dodgy when writers questioned this on the forums, and made it seem as if everyone would "find a place" in the new specialty system. Guess what--it didn't work that way. I would have preferred a clear email that said "Your services are no longer needed" than being strung along and told to apply for various positions and specializations that I was always turned down for. The new system is actually much better at avoiding duplication of articles and providing better content; I don't have a problem with the product they are putting out there, just the way I and many other writers were treated during and after the transition.