It can be pot luck on ending up on projects sometimes - a bad one can really make your life miserable (bad could be any combination of: difficult client or project lead, inconvenient location, uninteresting work, crazy hours due to tight deadlines). Promotion is a very obscure process and depending on the team can take place once a year or throughout the year, you can feel like it's a moving target as requirements change. Salaries are capped at seniority bands and therefore you need promotions if you want to earn more even if you don't want to necessarily be a "director" just want to be a specialist in your field without pressure of sales targets. the experience can be way different from team to team - you really need to choose the people over the work/sector sometimes. I have worked in more than one team and it has been like two different companies with their mini cultures! The partner in charge sets the tone. To advance you need to have a partner with clout and who's going places. It is a hierarchical place and sometimes the lack of the right job title can prevent you from gaining traction for a good idea. the partnership model means it is hard to move swiftly with an idea that requires resources across teams - it takes forever to get buy-in from more than 2-3 partners. Sometimes you need 20 partners involved and that just kills the idea before it is even born! maternity benefit not great - max is 14 weeks paid or so but they do try to help you get back to work which is a plus if you enjoy your job.
