Reflection: What Co-ops and Internships REALLY Teach You (Kim Harrison - Senior - Mechanical/Nuclear Engineering)

It’s hard to believe that in a few short days, I will be finishing up my six-month co-op assignment at Pratt & Whitney in East Hartford, CT. Needless to say, it’s been a great experience in many ways and I’m looking forward to taking much of what I learned into the next chapter of my life. I had my final exit meeting with my supervisor this morning which has made me reflect back on my experiences, both at Pratt & Whitney and my other two summer internship assignments. My current supervisor has only been in the position for three weeks, so my exit meeting was more of him giving me advice as opposed to a formal performance review. I think, to date, it has been the most valuable hour I’ve spent at work in my collective 12 months of experience. It put a lot of things in perspective for me as I am about to graduate from this wonderful university and enter the “real world.”

Co-ops and internships are great. It’s a chance to “test out” an industry, location, and a job function without fully committing. It can be very fast paced, since rotations can be as short as 10 weeks. And don’t forget, the pay is typically two- to four-times what I was earning at my first minimum wage job scooping ice cream. The biggest change for me was getting used to working with people who had been at the companies for longer than I had been living. In high school and college, you’re surrounded by your peers. The typical age difference is no more than half a decade. It’s quite humbling to be surrounded by, and work with, men and women who are the best at what they do.

Here’s what I think you should really aim to take away from a co-op or internship:

1. You don’t know everything. No seriously, you barely know anything. And not everything can be found in a text book, either. Companies don’t expect you to be able to recite Bernoulli’s equation or draw the phase diagram of salt water. Those problems have been solved already. Don’t get me wrong, those skills of analysis will help you tremendously as a practicing engineer. That’s the beauty of a co-op and internship. Everything you will need to know, they will teach you. Or have someone there to help you as you stumble your way through it.

2. The most important skills to develop while on a co-op or internship are interpersonal. Admit that you don’t know everything (see #1). Seek people out for answers you can’t find in a textbook. Chances are that many of your experienced co-workers will know exactly what (or who) can help you solve a problem. You’ll hear it over and over…but networking is an essential skill for any engineer. My supervisor, who has been interviewing many people over the past few weeks, told me he doesn’t look for people with specific Unigraphics NX 6.0 experience (the number one CAD tool used in my group), rather, he looks for soft skills because he knows he can teach the technical things.

3. Appreciate your co-workers. Having an intern or a co-op from a supervisor’s standpoint is much more work than I had realized. Mentoring takes a village and it may be a few weeks before you to get on your feet. During that time, you may be making many trips to your mentor’s desk. Everyone wants to see you succeed, however, so take advantage of those willing to lend you their time. If you can, nominate them for an award…but at the very least, make sure you find away to express your appreciation (even if it’s via email).

4. Go above and beyond. Think of these experiences as a 12(+) week interview. Rather than talking about how well you work in teams, or a time you went out of your way to solve a problem…do it. Collaborate with other interns on a project outside of your technical work. Aim to make the company better in some way. College students offer a fresh perspective. You’d be surprised at how many high-up executives are interested in what you have to say. And think about it, you’re most likely going to be eating lunch with other interns anyway…why not book a conference room and be productive?

See you in January, Happy Valley.

Major Focus: Carlye Lauff - Mechanical Engineering

Hello my name is Carye Lauff and I am a junior majoring in mechanical engineering. I love mechanical engineering because it is a major that can go into any industry. You have the opportunity to work in several main areas such as design, analysis, manufacturing, material science, as well as others. I have interned for two summer, one with GE Transportation in a role in analysis and the other with Boeing dealing with design. This summer I hope to work with manufacturing in order to see which area of mechanical engineering I feel the most comfortable. When you go to the career fair almost every company in every division from healthcare, to oil and gas, to transportation, to defense, to consumer products, to even the food industries are looking to hire mechanical engineers for internships, co-ops, and full-time. It is a great way to get your foot in the door of whatever company you are interested in!

During your first two years, most of the classes you take are common across all engineering. Then you begin to take more classes in engineering mechanics dealing with static and dynamic structures as well as strengths of materials. You also take core mechanical engineering classes in topics such as thermodynamics, fluid dynamics, heat transfer, vibrations, as well as many classes in design. Each of these classes prepares you with the fundamentals to understand how all systems work. Lots of the classes are focused on group projects and group assignments because in the real-world you are always working in teams.

My two favorite professors during my two years at Penn State have been my teachers in ME 300 (thermodynamics) and ME 320 (fluid dynamics). The reason I loved these two classes was because my professors genuinely cared about me and making sure I understood the material. I was able to go to their office hours and have them explain complex topics and even give me help on finishing the homework. Their dynamic personalities in class always kept my attention and their passion for the topics made me want to learn more as well. I have heard wonderful things about the rest of the mechanical engineering professors and I look forward to having them in my last few semesters.

I urge you to consider mechanical engineering because it has opened my mind to the endless possibilities made possible through engineering! And if you have any questions related to the major please do not hesitate to contact me at cal5323@psu.edu!

Major Focus: Alec Tanida - Bioengineering

Before I came to Penn State, I was pretty set on pursuing a degree in accounting. I applied to the Smeal College of Business and was fortunately accepted. I came in the first semester of my freshman year taking economics and some other business classes. However, I found that I was not interested in the material and that I disliked all of it. For a while, I felt pretty lost and was unsure of what I wanted to do. I kept looking around for majors and what I could possibly be interested in. During my first semester, I was taking a biology and a calculus class and I found that I really enjoyed them. Upon completion of these classes I knew that I wanted something in the healthcare field but I also wanted to use math. In the past, I have also been very hands on and loved to build and create things.

A semester of searching passed and I finally came to the College of Engineering, more specifically bioengineering. After doing extensive research, I determined that it had just enough of everything I wanted in a major: design, biology and math components. As a sophomore, junior and senior, I had the opportunity to take required classes and electives like Biomedical Instrument Design, Biofluid Mechanics, Bio-Continuum Mechanics and Surface and Biological Response to Materials. All of which were challenging yet very interesting. One cool class we get to take is called Introduction to Bioengineering Research and Design. This class works closely with Mashavu (a telemedicine system, Google it to find out more information) and teams in the class focus on developing a cheap, digital medical device for primary healthcare in third world countries. Kiosks with medical devices are set up in areas with minimal doctors and this allows patients to have their vitals taken. They would be recorded and either emailed or texted to nurses or doctors (sometimes halfway around the world) for them to determine if they need proper medical assistance. My team was assigned the task to design a stethoscope that could digitally record heart and lung sounds. We designed the hardware to be rugged and reliable and also created software to filter out background noise and save the sound files. Other teams focused on making scales, spirometers, and blood pressure devices among others. The best part about this project was that our devices were actually taken to Kenya to record vitals. It felt great to help out those in need!

After being in the program for over two years now and as I am close to finishing up my degree, I realized that bioengineering has not only satisfied my immediate needs as a freshman but has also exceeded my career goals. In the Penn State bioengineering program, typically a third of the graduating students go into industry, a third go to graduate school and a third go to medical school. Within industry, I know a lot of people that work with designing knee implants and medical devices; that work to improve manufacturing processes; and even with the business side of things. There are countless employment opportunities within the biomedical industry. If you find that you are more interested in research, then graduate school and possibly medical school may be the route for you. Friends of mine in the bioengineering department take part in research that focuses in artificial heart design, nanotechnology, imaging and tissue engineering. So basically, bioengineers can do anything.

I think the best part of this major is its small size. We have only about 40-50 students in my year and I personally know most of them. I met some of my best friends from bioengineering as a result of the countless hours we spend together in class, studying and just hanging out. The small major size also gives you the opportunity to get a lot of one on one help with the professors to help learn material and to build networks.

Despite all my confusion and uncertainty freshman year, I will be happily graduating with a bioengineering degree. I have really enjoyed my time at Penn State with courses, professors and students and I wish that I didn’t have to leave. Unfortunately, I only have another two semesters to go until graduation so I am in the job hunting process but I am very optimistic about the future.

Internship Experience 3: Saul Wecht (Junior, Computer Engineering)

So let’s start at the beginning. Last summer, I was supposed to study abroad in Japan. I had my deposit sent in and my passport renewal in the mail. And then… the earthquake happened. Needless to say, the program was cancelled.

So there I was: A sophomore in March with nothing to do for the quickly approaching summer. I decided to approach Penn State’s Engineering Career Resources Office and see if there was anything they could do for me. To make a long story short, there was. After tearing apart and rebuilding my resume with me, they sent my information to a few different companies. Then, about a week later, I had an internship offer with Intel in Folsom, California.

So that was cool.

After finals week and a quick week at home to relax and pack (two things that I now know do not agree with each other), I was off to California. A few days after I landed, I was in Intel’s new employee orientation. Sound rushed? It felt rushed.

But, it was amazing. In a few short weeks I had gone from aimless student to full time Intel employee. I would say intern, but Intel doesn’t really make that distinction. One of the best parts about my internship was that I wasn’t treated like an intern. Once I joined my team, I was a full time developer just like everyone else. I attended team meetings, planned team projects, participated in team quarterly celebrations (which were awesome (and on company time)), and did pretty much everything else that anyone on the team did.

My team was responsible for Microsoft certification of Intel graphics drivers. Basically, Intel wrote software to control the graphics aspects of its computer processors and needed Microsoft’s seal of approval in order to call it a Windows certified driver. My team was responsible for executing the Microsoft-approved tests and getting that seal of approval. I specifically worked on automating that process. At the end of the day, my workload was mainly C# and aspx coding.

Possibly my favorite part of working at Intel, however, was the atmosphere. I’ve worked on countless teams in my life so far, and never (until this summer) have I been on a team where I genuinely liked every single member. Sure, I’ve had plenty of positive team experiences… but nothing quite like what I found at Intel. Each and every member of my team was friendly, knowledgeable, and supportive. And, from what I could tell, that was the case for every other team at Intel as well. Everyone was always happy, and there were no boundaries between offices. The CEO walked around in jeans and people called him Paul. The CEO of a multi-billion dollar international corporation. Paul. In jeans.

All things considered, I think you could say my summer was a success. After finding my last minute internship with this little company called Intel, I had an incredible experience where I learned a ton and met amazing people. I can only hope that I’m lucky enough to find my way back there again in the future!

Internship Experience 2: Terri Creech (Senior, Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering)

Dreams Do Come True

One of the best things that Penn State encourages and assists students with is co-op and internships. These real world experiences help students figure out what the working world is like before they have even obtained a degree. As a senior in Industrial Engineer, I have done three internships (summer work experiences) and one co-op (semester work experience). I began with a summer internship after my freshman and sophomore years with General Electric (GE) Transportation in Erie, PA. My most recent experience was a spring co-op and summer internship with GE Energy in Minden, NV.

On my co-op and internship in Nevada, I had the chance to fulfill my dream of spending more than six months living out west. Minden (pictured below) is located at the base of the western Sierra Nevada Mountains, just 15 miles from Lake Tahoe, CA. The lifestyle that I had there was active, interesting, and challenging. Every day was different and dynamic. Through my experience, I learned so much about engineering, the western states, and myself. I was able to meet people from all over the country and travel to 16 states!

I spent 8 months as the West Region Services intern and worked for the region service manager who managed a team of 10 field engineers that lived throughout the west region. These field engineers travel to customer sites and are involved with the installation, update, and service of my company’s product. The customers are energy companies such as BP, Shell, ExxonMobil, and many power plants. In my job, I was able to travel to customer sites to assist the field engineers. For example, I travelled to Central California and worked at a power plant that provides electricity to 1/3 of central CA. Below is a picture of me inside of a gas turbine at the power plant; I’ll never turn a light switch on the same again!

The culture at GE Energy in Minden, NV was highly focused on an active lifestyle paired with hard work. Many of my coworkers were avid skiers, mountain bikers, hikers, rock climbers, and outdoor enthusiasts. In Nevada, I was able to ski every weekend through April and I learned how to mountain bike during the summer. The interns I worked with were from several different schools throughout the United States. I now have friends in Puerto Rico, Iowa, New York, Georgia, Nevada, and California! We took many trips together including Yosemite National Park, Crater Lake National Park, Zion National Park, and Redwood National Park (pictured below).

What is your dream? I urge you to follow your dreams. Take risks. Move someplace that makes you uncomfortable and embrace your surroundings- it may just change your life. Penn State Engineering can help you get anywhere you want to go, and do what you want to do. Develop your passions and remember that at the end of the day, no matter where you are, WE ARE… PENN STATE!

Internship Experience 1: ConocoPhillips!

This is the first of several posts where current ambassadors will tell us a little about their co-op/internship experiences.

Here's Ashley Elias (Senior, Mechanical Engineering) talking about her internship with ConocoPhillips!

This past summer I worked with ConocoPhillips at their Bayway Refinery in Linden, NJ. This was the first internship I had ever had in the Oil Industry and I loved it! Not only could I go out into the refinery to actually see what I was working on, but I got a lot of hands on experience witnessing different projects and processes in action. My title was the Mechanical Design and Reliability Intern. My group was in charge of analyzing heat exchangers, pressure vessels, and piping systems to ensure their functionality and structural integrity.

I was a little nervous at first, not knowing if I would understand all of my assignments, but with the help of other engineers in my group I was able to successfully complete all of the projects that were assigned to me during the summer.

Some of my projects included calculating the minimum required thicknesses for pressure vessels and heat exchangers. Operators would then go measure the thickness of these components and make sure they weren’t too corroded. If they were too thin, repairs or part replacements were necessary. I also worked on a really challenging piping analysis project. There was a piping system running in and out of a furnace and Operators noticed a lot of vibrations in the pipes. I was responsible for analyzing the stresses and vibrations in the pipes and designing a guide system to help support them.

Overall, I learned a lot throughout the summer and now I’m seeking a full time job in the Oil Industry!

Not only was the work very interesting, but all of the people I worked with were really helpful and welcoming. I was set up with a mentor and a buddy (a younger new hire to show me around). I also spent a lot of time with the other interns. ConocoPhillips set up apartments for all of us in the same building so that made the experience a lot of fun! I highly recommend doing an internship to anyone even if you don’t know what you want to do with your career; learning what you’re not interested in is just as valuable as learning what you are interested in!

Career Week

Just a few short weeks ago, Penn State hosted its annual Fall Career Week. This is an excellent opportunity for students of various disciplines to connect with employers from all over the country. Here is what some of the Engineering Ambassadors had to say about their experiences.

Anna Rish - Senior/Computer Science

This year at the career fair I had the unique experience of searching for an internship as a Master's Degree student. Because I am enrolled in a special 5-year Integrated Undergraduate/Graduate degree, I am technically a graduate student who has time for one more summer internship before graduation. While most companies did not treat me differently from other students, some companies have special programs aimed at both undergraduate and graduate students. I feel that some of my success at the career fair was due to my early appearance -- recruiters are still fresh (many fly in the night before and are battling fatigue throughout the day), and the booths are not too crowded yet. I was able to talk to all 5 of the companies that I was interested in (IBM, Cisco, Microsoft, Intel, and National Instruments), as well as another company called iDirect which actually pulled me into its booth to talk about my experiences as a computer science student. Out of this I was able to interview with 4/5 of the companies that were doing on-campus interviews. One company reviews resumes and then returns for interviews in October. Many companies also give applicants final decisions by the end of October -- so hopefully I'll my summer plans in order in the next few weeks!

AJ Logan - Senior/Mechanical Engineering

I had a little bit of a different career fair experience. I got to work as a recruiter for the entire day on Thursday, for the technical full time. I have signed a contract with a company, Schlumberger, and the head recruiter asked me to come along to the career fair to help out and take resumes from students and talk about the company and what I did at my internship. It was really cool, because I got to see the other side of the booth and talk to the students about my favorite topic, our company! I also got to meet 7 new Schlumberger employees who were also helping out, all of which were great people who held different positions within the company. It was interesting talking to the students as well and trying to judge whether they would fit into a position at Schlumberger, which taught me a little more about how students can do a better job of talking to recruiters. I found that excitement and personality are key. Many students were quiet or seemed shy, but they needed to be enthusiastic about what they wanted to do in life, if not then it seemed as though they didn't really want to work for us. Overall, they day was very fun and exciting and we even found some good candidates for jobs within the company.

Jacki Guillemette - Junior/Mechanical Engineering

Career week can be a very busy time with information sessions, career fair, interviews, and company dinners. This past career week, I had the opportunity to attend the HUGE career fair that Penn State offers with hundreds of companies. I got to speak with representatives from all the companies that I was interested in and ended up with 4 interviews as well as an invitation to a dinner with one of the companies and other intern applicants. Interviews can be a little intimidating but as long as you are prepared for possible questions they could ask (questions about previous group projects, problems you had to deal with, how you handle your work load, etc.) and have some confidence, you are all set! The dinner I was invited to was great too because I got to learn more about the one company in a more casual setting. In a few weeks I should find out whether I got an internship or not so I have my fingers crossed!

Megumi Woltermann - Junior/Chemical Engineering

Penn state does a great job with the career fair. For one day, I get access to over a hundred employers. I applied to over 10 internships, and I met with a lot of great companies. A lot of companies will be interviewing within the next couple of weeks, so hopefully I impressed them enough to get an interview. I got a call back from P&G to go out to dinner the same day as the career fair. They took me out to The Tavern, and I got to know some of the recruiters a little better. I will know in a couple weeks if I will get an interview. Over the years, I have had a really good experience with the career fair. The career fair has given me the opportunity to meet and learn about different companies in such a short amount of time.