Pros
Discover has a great work/life balance. Employees are always able to take time off when needed. 5 weeks of paid time off from the first day you start. Decent benefits package. Almost everyone is friendly and easy to work with. Technology employees can work from home at times via remote access--this varies by team.
Cons
There is a lot of fear in the air right now that the company could be purchased at any moment. Lots of employees who have been around forever are leaving. Ever since going public in 2007 and with the economy situation, lots of cost cutting measures currently being implemented. The various business areas don't work well together which causes lots of issues for business technology projects. It's very difficult to further your career in technology due to a culture of "who you know" and too many bad apples spoiling the bunch. Discover has more than it's fair share of employees "riding it out" to retirement who have no interest in furthering their career nor working very hard, if at all. There is a curve used in the yearly rating system which is a huge disadvantage to high-performing teams. Yearly pay increases have been very small ever since 2001. You have to be promoted or get a salary adjustment (very rare) to get your salary where it should be. Lots of turnover throughout the company, in all business areas right now. Lots of "red tape" required to get projects completed. Plenty of politics involved. Projects are giving a due date without requirements being finalized or sometimes even started.
