Pros
I honestly think that people should pay to work at Goldman as an intern. I would If I was able to. The amount of knowledge that flows through those offices is comparable to nothing else I have seen. Sharp people, with sharp pay, constantly coming up with way of improving efficiency and ways to make money. The pay is great, they recognize people right away for their talents and immediately put them to work in what they do best. They are constantly offering training to their employees in almost about any topic you may choose. Even as a temp you are offered great opportunities. I was offered an Analyst job after a year of working in administrative jobs regardless of the fact that I did not have a Yale or Harvard degree, which by the way is the only thing they hire. It was an honor for me to be offered such an opportunity after seeing recently graduated aplicants (from those universities) go through a process of 20 interviews and still not get hired for one reason or other. Working at Goldman gives you an incredible understanding of economic and political issues and I could almost say that it changes forever the way you look at the world.
Cons
They are not flexible at all when it comes to family and work balance. they demand 90% of your time and soul. It is very difficult to adapt to any other working environment after working at Goldman, that may be why so many people leave Goldman only to create their own business. They are not very tolerant of mistakes, it is a high stress environment, depending on the position. Senior managers can be a little crazy at times and treat employees very disrespectfully, but only if they make a few hundred million dollars for the firm...
