Pros
Great work-life balance Research work seldom has client deliverables, so there are very few hectic days TCS has good health insurance schemes No competition or politics majorly for promotion/hike. There's a fairly established process. Most folks get 8% hike per year, and promotion from researcher to scientist takes 5 years. Easygoing, chill life Good place if you want to do a PhD later. Many internal pathways too. Feels like a bunch of class toppers coming together to recreate academic research vibe (well...) Most people in the office are happy. Occasional collabs with colleges and all. Intern projects are very college-friendly, in terms of adjusting deadlines, creating submit-worthy reports, managers filling college forms. WFO 5 days a week, but timings are not as strict. Dress code is also relaxed. Depends on manager though.
Cons
Office reeks of entitlement. Everyone believes they are superior because they are doing "Research". Dude, chill, it's just another job. Senior management runs projects on personal whims. They have choice of projects to take up. A lot of IIT and non-IITian ego drama, nothing toxic culture, but subtle discrimination & gatekeeping is the norm Projects keep coming up, and getting shelved. They don't see the light of the day. No client deliverables, so your manager sort of decides when a project is done. And the outcomes, well he decides that too. People used to write papers and travel to conferences, if manager is good. Now, its drastically reduced. The "research = divine" arrogance is high. The whole office is senior-heavy (read 40-50+), young employees have little voice in anything - projects, hiring or anything important. It's a great place to relax, and enjoy a dettached ivory tower existence.