The science is great, but the bureaucracy is a nightmare.
Pros
Lots of great funding to do great science. The small details are all taken care of: there are competent staff who wash glassware and make media; the teams in receiving, security, and chemical safety are all friendly and helpful. There are very few barriers outside of your own mind to do great science.
Cons
Building bureaucracy is a never ending nightmare that you can't wake up from. You wouldn't think that it would affect me that much as a graduate student, but there are constantly new barriers to basic access to some resources, hoops to jump through, hypocrisy in policy making and enforcement. The building leadership's priorities are all mixed up: they would rather spend oodles of money to make a new eyesore of a logo rather than retain loyal, competent staff; they'd rather show a farcical business-oriented front than protect trainees during their transition periods.
