Pros
1) Solid science and thorough drug discovery and development process 2) World leader in immune-oncology and infectious disease. Future world leader in immunology and neuroscience. 3) Compensation seems to be industry average, but certain benefits relating to pension plan, housing assistance (in certain locations), and Inspire points program makes Merck stand out.
Cons
1) Lack of Innovation. Although the company has made an effort over the past several years to address this, there is not enough of investment in innovation and several bureaucratic systems in place to prevent innovation. 2) Serious IT and data infrastructure problem. These archaic processes/systems will likely result in the company struggling to keep up with competitors in the digital era. 3) Difficult publishing research articles, which is not good for early career scientists trying to impact their respective fields.