Pros
The internship program at the Baytown site is well-organized and geared towards educating the students. Supervisors will introduce interns to varied aspects of a chemical process through small projects covering basic unit ops - as is expected - and offer the expertise of senior engineers when the assignments turn hard. Activities, like dinners out and Astros games, are a nice reprieve from the drab Baytown surroundings as well as a chance to meet interns working in other units. The city of Baytown is a typical run-down oil town, and while there isn't much to do except suffer in the summer heat, it is inexpensive.
Cons
It's hard to stay busy at work for a number of reasons: managers are afraid of giving too much responsibility or assignments that may not have been covered in school, they're hesitant to bring 3-month hires up to speed on ongoing projects, and they don't want to thrust us in existing groups for fear that, if we don't work out, they'll be responsible. I haven't interned in other facilities, so it's unknown whether the Baytown plant is unique in this regard. At the end of summer, there's a mandatory presentation summarizing our contributions to the company. These two downsides do not go well together.
