Pros
You will gain wide exposure to your market in a very short amount of time. In the SF Bay, you can expect to tour hundreds of homes and write 6-8 offers per client before that client gets an accepted offer. Even though it seems like a lot of work, how would a brand-new agent ever gain that much trust with someone? Redfin hands brand-new agents a fully functioning real estate business and that agent must learn how to manage the business. It's the opposite of the "traditional" world, where the brand-new agent must develop their business. I learned an insane amount about SF real estate in a short amount of time. The caveat is that you don't have 5, or 10, or 15 clients that are running you around. You have 30-40. And they all have the power to determine your paycheck. The SF office has catered meals 2x a week (best ones are on Wednesdays) and an odd, steady supply of junk food, pre-boiled eggs and irradiated nuts, and cold La Croix and beers . If you are a real estate agent, this means nothing since you'll avoid the SF office at all costs unless attendance is mandatory. Can't speak to the Pleasanton office, because who cares or goes to Pleasanton? Benefit package is wonderful. Employees pay a small amount towards insurance, but in my experience it was excellent when I used it. If you anticipate using your benefits package, Redfin is a great place for full coverage. Our State Broker -- he came in 3-4x yearly to discuss forms updates and best practices. His trainings were the most useful part of my time ever spent in an office at Redfin.
Cons
In order: 1. 30-40 clients who are all discount shoppers, who all have the ability to downgrade your pay. 2. Nepotism. 3. Executive management (Seattle) has no real estate experience, employs no Realtors as executives, has no Realtor review board, told Realtors at the mandatory nationwide conference to "go elsewhere if they are here for the money". Hello? We are salespeople. 4. No local market training. In fact, no communication whatsoever from local management. This lack of local understanding is probably why the company promotion/management policy relies so heavily on nepotism. 5. Work-Life balance is frowned upon, a shameful need of only those who "can't take the heat". Dogged acceptance of 24 hours a day/7 days a week by most agents. 6. Commission averages .0025% of purchase price, and I worked in a market with higher bonuses "to compensate for higher cost of living". And don't forget -- the client can always lower that percentage.