Pros
They offer a decent starting salary and two weeks vacation straight out of college but the real benefit comes with the ability to move within the company. They are dedicated to making sure that you are in the right spot. Many salary employees that I've met have worked in multiple divisions. The company has lots of career employees and some that start their career elsewhere but once they get hired by Sonoco they stick around. Sonoco has a family atmosphere which is rare for such a large company. They seem to put a lot of focus on the Emerging Leader Program, they really want each Emerging Leader to succeed. The head of the program reaches out to all of the ELP employees monthly. Each plant also provides a mentor. Their is no specific path to follow with the program so if you are the type of person who likes change it's possible to be doing something completely different every few months. Within my first three months with the company I had learned every production job and was shift supervising. It's likely that in six months from now I could be doing something completely different. This position gives you the opportunity to learn many if not all aspects of the business you join.
Cons
Not all, but many of their plants are in small towns. If you are the type of person that needs to be in a big city it might be harder to find a location that fits. Because I could see this being an issue for some people, you have to be very self driven. Though you have many resources available there is no specific path you are required to take. I had to find where I fit best in the plant and where I was most needed. In my case nobody was really directing me on what to do on a daily basis and from talking to others in the program that seems to be pretty common. There is lots of broad direction but no specifics and in the beginning that can be tough to navigate because your knowledge of whatever business you are in is usually pretty limited.