Pros
Learning is definitely encouraged. So is innovation. The people I work with and the work atmosphere are great, we have each other's backs, we learn from each other and help each other every day. Some of us hang out socially too, apart from work. Having moved to California from another country, I can truly say I made some friends at work. Long hours do happen, but it is manageable, it's not like we work evenings and weekends all the time. Since I had a baby, I have never had any problems reconciling my work life with my private life, and there is lots of flexibility when for instance the baby is sick and I need to work from home or come in late. As to sharing desks, I assure you that any full time employee will get their desk. We had contractors share desks before, but with the recent expansion, this should no longer be necessary. As for promotions, two engineers in my team were promoted this year, and two last year. The pay (salary and stock) is good. Recent changes around my team made on call duties much easier.
Kontras
Sometimes you have to move so quickly, that you don't have time to really learn the underlying technology. Sometimes solutions get stalled due to the need to discuss with several stakeholders and teams you depend on having different priorities. But that's inevitable in a larger organization I guess, and people are very cooperative. Contractors are definitely treated worse than the "blue badge employees".