Pros
Work on exciting projects, interact with a lot of disciplines and get to learn a lot. Lots of smart people around you. Get to see some cool things. Stock bonus - depending on when you join this can be good compensation. You can only sell if company offers a buyback and you need to cover the tax for all stock awards (can be paid out of pocket or by selling some of your stock award during vesting periods).
Cons
Long hours - and they are required. 40 hour weeks do not exist. Expect to work weekends frequently and over holidays. Expect to be available on MS Teams 24/7. You will be rated down if you work 50 hours per week and while others do 60 (even if your work gets done right and on-time). There is no OT pay for salaried employees, you are expected to work more. Travel - If you are Cape or Hawthorne based and work on Starship - expect to be required to travel to Starbase frequently. If you can find a hotel that isn't dirty or full of bugs you're lucky. Your other alternative is to stay on site - sharing space with randoms or crammed in to tiny living quarters that frequently have A/C fail or run out of hot water. Schedules - Largely unrealistic and they know this, the goal is to make you feel the pressure to keep working. Bonuses - stock portion only paid out if you stay with company for next full year (awarded ~April, paid November, not including any long term options which vest over 5-6 year periods). This is the mechanism they use to try retain you. You will notice that when stocks vest (May/November) a lot of employees leave. If something goes wrong someone is getting thrown under the bus, even if management was 100% on board with the choices made - or made the choice themselves due to cost/schedule. Many managers are not technically competent in the areas they oversee - they are there to drive you to work more.
