Pros
Great name recognition for post-consulting careers - many headhunters will call you within the first month of your employment. The exposure to different industries and opportunity to learn a lot about how companies are run is great. Internal resources and support (i.e. research, IT) are excellent and so are certain perks (Friday afternoon happy hours, great vacation schedule). The training at Bain is comprehensive and one can tell that the firm spares no expenses to train its people. The company provides many tools to help one do one's job and there are opportunities to work abroad in other offices to experience other cultures.
Cons
High pressure, long hours and residual "old boys club" culture still persists. There are obvious favoritisms right from the start for those who have previously worked for the firm as Associate Consultants. The "meritocracy" that the firm preaches isn't always true - the louder one whines the more one gets. There is generally a lack of clarity on what is expected and what those expectations mean. Promotion usually favors those who were with the firm previously, and is openly talked about by management. This creates conflict and disparity among post-MBA hires and sets unnecessary rivalry and competition among colleagues. Managers at Bain are not trained to lead and manage people - they're trained to produce presentations and get the project done, so there is little in terms of professional development, even though that's what the firm touts as its key characteristics.
