Pros
Great co-workers, really good benefits (compared to others in the area).
Cons
Difficult to advance. The only way to advance is to be buddies with the hiring manager, which leads to horribly unqualified people being put into positions that they cannot handle (mainly management). Merrill "prides" itself on hiring within, but it's completely untrue. Recently there was a large lay-off (100+ people) and 2 job positions were opened under a different division. Instead of hiring perfectly qualified individuals, that applied for the positions, the manager filled both from outside the company. Office politics are the worst, so much drama and gossip from all levels. Way too much middle-management, leading to micro-managing of employees. My former manager sat on Facebook and shopped online all day, and took credit for the hard work that the rest of the team did. The new CEO has been selling off pieces of the core business for 2+ years....not sure what Merrill is anymore.