Pros
Schmidt Futures provides strong opportunities to build a foundation for your career. It feels like a liberal-arts education for the working world, because you are exposed to many different areas of focus and have opportunities to learn something about everything. There's plenty of flexibility to move around and try new things, which is a great feature for people early in their career who aren't sure what they want to specialize in. As well, you are exposed to amazing people in the office and in the larger Schmidt Futures network. You can get really strong on-the-job training and technical skills, and employees are asked to step out of their comfort zones on day two. There's a strong bias toward actually trying to solve problems in the world, rather than just theorizing, debating, or complaining about them. People are genuinely motived by the mentality of: Okay - this is a problem in the world; how do we make it better? This outlook is very refreshing nowadays, and has forced me to take on a problem-solvers mindset. Salary is very comfortable for people fresh out of college living in NYC.
Cons
The hiring process can be pretty long and a little confusing. The raise and promotion benchmarks are also a bit unclear. Maximum flexibility for analysts means you won't get stuck doing something you don't like. It also means you may not get much expertise in any one subject area, unless you decide to make it your focus. Schmidt Futures provides funds for continuing education and professional development. But it's incumbent upon you to find those opportunities and try to take advantage of them in your spare time. Of course, since the projects you're working on are demanding enough, it's hard to find time to actually take those courses and acquire those supplemental skills you need to advance in your career.