Pros
Good people pitching in to get the job done. The people you work with day to day are the upside. Salary is good.
Cons
Upper management does not know what to do during the oil downturn. Leaves them in a tough spot. Many layoffs.
Poor use of very good technical people.
Disconnect between developers, researchers, and users.
Upper management does not know the skills of their people and are disconnected from the technical work. Push for any minuscule technology to place on a marketing brochure.