Prós
I felt like I had complete control over the engineering of my projects. I was able to work on a variety of different projects that interest and challenged me. My direct report was helpful and easy going. He understood the cons of the job and worked to alleviate the stress they caused. Benefits were good for me.
Contras
The pay was quite low for the market. As a struggling student post-college, I grabbed the offer when it was presented. Raises were fair percentage wise but it didn't matter when the base was low. Production was always under trained and understaffed. Quality didn't have the balls to squawk about issues. The facility cut a lot of corners and conditions were subpar for the industry. Most managers and supervisors did not belong in their positions, most didn't have the intelligence to tie their own shoes it seemed. The engineering group was passionate about their work but didn't have the required experience to be successful. Because of all these issues, on-time delivery and quality were sub-standard and embarrassing. Because of that everything was urgent and poorly done.
In my role I wore many hats to support the needs of the company and to work around individuals who lacked the proper skills so that my projects would succeed. I poured a lot of effort into the company and it was heartbreaking to see other departments failing and impacting my projects. That's why I had to leave.