Conley Engineering, Inc.
After an Honors in Rome study abroad in the summer after freshman year, I obtained my first internship, working at a small local engineering consulting company in Yakima. The first time I interned there, I mostly performed secretarial work but developed some understanding of engineering contract work.
I interned at Conley Engineering, Inc. again the summer after my sophomore year. During my second internship there, I was responsible for the full-stack development (see diagram above for what full-stack development involves) for one of the company's web page.
From my time at Conley Engineering, Inc., I learned the following lessons about internships.
INTERNSHIPS. Only apply for internships that involve interesting work. Otherwise, one might end up really disliking their job, which affects the energy they approach the job, which affects job performance. In my case, I gained some applied knowledge about full-stack web development, but I disliked the job, leading me to tackle the task with less energy, which lead me to work inefficiently. In the end, I wasn't able to finish the entire project.
RESUME. Only list relevant experiences. Okay, what does that mean? I mean only list experiences that are related to the work one wants to do. For example, to avoid performing secretarial work, I listed my computer science coursework and indicated that I wanted to work on a programming project for my second internship at Conley Engineering, Inc.
PROJECTS. Internships seem to be relatively flexible. In other words, don't be afraid to ask for another project. I remember being asked if I wanted to work on another project, but I turned down the offer. In retrospect, I think it would have been better if I accepted their offer because I didn't like my current project. It's actually beneficial both to the company and the person. Person enjoys work and get work done. Company benefits. It's that simple.
EXPLORE. Internships are for exploration. Sometimes, one discovers they don't enjoy a particular field. For me, I discovered I don't really enjoy full-stack web development. And again, one should try working on as many different projects as possible in internships to explore. For me, one thing I did wrong was not switching to another project when I was given a chance. If I had, I probably would have gained some experience with prototyping digital circuits on FPGAs, which I eventually discovered to be more interesting than full-stack web development through coursework.
INDEPENDENT LEARNING. To be honest, internships is similar to actual work. And often times, engineers are expected to learn independently. This was definitely the case for me. I had no idea what full-stack development was coming into Conley Engineering, Inc. for my second internship. However, I quickly realized that Google is an engineer's best friend.
ASK, ASK, ASK. Internships are learning experiences as well. It might sound contradictory to the previous statement but ask questions. I guess it has to be a balance; don't ask too many questions but don't not ask any questions. Colleagues will often refer to useful resources or perhaps even help solve the problem. Either way, asking for help will improve project progress. One mistake I made during my second internship at Conley Engineering, Inc. is not asking enough questions because I thought I was supposed to do everything myself.
From my time at Conley Engineering, Inc., I learned the following lessons about internships.
INTERNSHIPS. Only apply for internships that involve interesting work. Otherwise, one might end up really disliking their job, which affects the energy they approach the job, which affects job performance. In my case, I gained some applied knowledge about full-stack web development, but I disliked the job, leading me to tackle the task with less energy, which lead me to work inefficiently. In the end, I wasn't able to finish the entire project.
RESUME. Only list relevant experiences. Okay, what does that mean? I mean only list experiences that are related to the work one wants to do. For example, to avoid performing secretarial work, I listed my computer science coursework and indicated that I wanted to work on a programming project for my second internship at Conley Engineering, Inc.
PROJECTS. Internships seem to be relatively flexible. In other words, don't be afraid to ask for another project. I remember being asked if I wanted to work on another project, but I turned down the offer. In retrospect, I think it would have been better if I accepted their offer because I didn't like my current project. It's actually beneficial both to the company and the person. Person enjoys work and get work done. Company benefits. It's that simple.
EXPLORE. Internships are for exploration. Sometimes, one discovers they don't enjoy a particular field. For me, I discovered I don't really enjoy full-stack web development. And again, one should try working on as many different projects as possible in internships to explore. For me, one thing I did wrong was not switching to another project when I was given a chance. If I had, I probably would have gained some experience with prototyping digital circuits on FPGAs, which I eventually discovered to be more interesting than full-stack web development through coursework.
INDEPENDENT LEARNING. To be honest, internships is similar to actual work. And often times, engineers are expected to learn independently. This was definitely the case for me. I had no idea what full-stack development was coming into Conley Engineering, Inc. for my second internship. However, I quickly realized that Google is an engineer's best friend.
ASK, ASK, ASK. Internships are learning experiences as well. It might sound contradictory to the previous statement but ask questions. I guess it has to be a balance; don't ask too many questions but don't not ask any questions. Colleagues will often refer to useful resources or perhaps even help solve the problem. Either way, asking for help will improve project progress. One mistake I made during my second internship at Conley Engineering, Inc. is not asking enough questions because I thought I was supposed to do everything myself.