Vantaggi
1. Exposure to powerful connections in a wealthy industry. I've met multiple C level folks from contractor and vendor associations. 2. System and tool start-up experience, which are solid resume builders. 3. Nanotechnology is a flourishing industry in upstate NY. Other big players are rumored to possibly build here constantly.
Svantaggi
1. Company cannot get out of its own way. Inefficiencies are ingrained in the factory/business systems. Logistics are an absolute nightmare for engineers. 2. Far too much politics. Some people just walk around and talk all day while others are working unbelievably hard. Promotions seem to be independent of who does or doesn't do actual work. 3. Obsession with making the various "Dashboards" look good causes most engineers to miss critical work on the tools. This one is improving recently IMO, but we still have a long way to go.