Avantages
The hours at Rodman and Renshaw are better than most investment banks at this level. Its pretty easy to have a solid work life balance when working at Rodman. I would get in around 9-9:30 every morning and be out by 7-8pm most evenings. The senior staff, although clueless, are for the most part good guys. There is not much of a "jerk factor" at the firm. The junior staff is also very nice. Good young guys who are fun to have a beer with but not exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. Overall, its a good place to hide for a while before landing the right IB job.
Inconvénients
There is no brand name whatsoever. The clients Rodman works with are basically the bottom of the barrel companies with poor management and even poorer performance. There is also no structure at the firm. Its historically been a PIPE shop with a focus on biotech and most recently they have been scrambling to A) expand to other industries/product groups and B) merge with a bigger competitor in order to establish some sort of legitimacy (see the failed Cowen proposal). There is poor leadership at the top, with the CEO hat being passed around like a hot potato. The base pay is street but the bonus pay is a joke, its not even within the realm of street. Overall, Id say avoid at all costs unless you have no other options.