You 'pay' to work, but learn for life
Pluspunten
Incredible forward thinking, visionary and experimental practice. Nowhere else will you ever have the opportunity and/or freedom to do the things you do here, or to learn and experiment as you can at Zaha. It is the highest concentration of exceptional, outliers, talented individuals per square meter, and if you are willing to join the game, you will build a resilient and trusting network, and become part of a 'real' community. Also, the prestige of working in a practice like that is not comparable to anything else, and you get access to many things/places just because of the name behind. Plus the parties/events abroad, which you get invitation as an employee and are usually exceptional, compared to other offices/practices. You learn a lot, even if you do nothing and just sit and watch. Work here as a stepping stone. Dont aim for too many years or a career - you will get stuck.
Minpunten
As I said, you must be willing to 'join' the game. That means literally 'paying' to work, because the salary is low for the amount of time and energy you need to put if you want to work here. You are not just paying with your work, but with your mental health that will decline sharply, as this is a highly competitive, highly driven environment. The learning curve (and it doesnt matter how much experience you have, the learning curve for ZHA is like nothing else) is really steep, you will need to put the time and effort if you want to catch up. Plus all the extra hours which are 'capped' by law, which means that in reality you end up doing many more hours than it is actually allowed which will not be paid. Additionally, most of your incredible, forward thinking and visionary designs will be in service of the worst people in the world - meaning dictators, money lauders, controversial leaders or free market businessman. Chances are, you will be overlooked if you end up in the wrong team, with the wrong manager, that wont advocate for you. People wont help you, unless you are already 'part of the community' (and this takes time). You will need to learn on your own. Good luck. Besides, diversity is nearly innexistant. Yes, you have people from all over the world working there, but they are all individuals from a rich background who could affrod to study in the right schools and doesn't rely on a decent pay and normal hours to get by.