Internships [Archive] - Chief Delphi

Andrew Remmers

01-06-2010, 22:31

I won an internship here in Florida for a company called BBM Structural Engineering, its for 4 weeks this summer. I had a second possibility that a previous sponsor told me about and hooked me up with a name. Its with a company called Caylex Architectural Fabrication. However I don't think that one worked out to well since I never got a call back.

Just look around go to some place you find interesting, could be a sponsor, you never know what will happen until you ask.

Andrew

davidthefat

01-06-2010, 22:37

The Analog

01-06-2010, 22:42

I am a high school intern at Jabil Circuit in Florida. I have interned as a Manufacturing Engineer (programed pick and place machines, setup work-flows/work-cells), and as Electrical Engineer (deciding component placement on the board/basic circuit building). pays $8:50 an hour 40 hour work week during the summer, 10-20 hour work week during the school year.

kjolana1124

01-06-2010, 22:44

I'm a junior in high school. I was offered an internship job at the Connecticut Science Center, but I can't take it yet because I have to be 18. I will SURELY do it when I'm old enough though. It's for marketing, which is really cool because I might be interested in it.

See? And they said FIRST was all pop rivets and duct tape.

Akash Rastogi

01-06-2010, 22:56

Summer before Junior year I was an intern for Intuitive Surgical (creators of the da Vinci surgical system) working on their controls system.

Summer before Senior year I continued working on a similar project at Newark Beth Israel Medical Center and NJIT and also prototyped a next gen smart phone with an HTC affiliate.

I just began my new internship as a Systems and Mechanical Engineering intern at Siemens, one of the largest companies in the world. I'm working on mechanical and controls for prototypes in their Research and Development labs. The stuff they do here is pretty intense and affects millions of lives of patients in hospitals, so I'm really really enjoying it.

Its sick, I'm learning more than I ever thought and applying more from the microcosm that is FRC than I ever imagined.

PM me if you need help with winning an internship with companies in your area.

One of the few times I will say this and genuinely mean it: Thank you, FIRST and MORT Team 11.
.

P.S.- Other students on our team have worked at Google, EA Games, UC Berkeley, as well as research labs affiliated with Rutgers University. We've also had a few NASA interns of our own down in Virginia. I know students on other well known teams who work at their respective NASA facility, Lockheed Martin, Northrup, a place called Blue Dolphin, and a bunch of others.

Best advice I can give is that don't be afraid to show off what you know to the company or individual you are trying to impress. You are competing in a real world situation, so give it your all. Always let them know that you are there to learn.

Edoc'sil

01-06-2010, 23:03

Interning at Lake Region Medical, converting 2D models to 3D.

theprgramerdude

01-06-2010, 23:08

Through robotics I met an electrical engineer at a local company who offered me a summer internship-like job starting next week, where pretty much another buddy and I test some experimental electrical equipment and electronics for them, go through some code looking for bugs, etc. This is only one of many great things that has happened because of FIRST.

davidthefat

01-06-2010, 23:17

One question, would the internships be everyday type of thing or weekend or once a week type?
My summer schedules are PACKED since I have Football practice 4 hours a day with summer school

Chris is me

01-06-2010, 23:24

Depends on the kind of summer school.

I found it a lot more beneficial to do summer camps, academic programs, and maybe part time jobs than high school internships. You have all of college for that. You need to get pretty lucky to get them in high school.

AdamHeard

01-06-2010, 23:26

One question, would the internships be everyday type of thing or weekend or once a week type?
My summer schedules are PACKED since I have Football practice 4 hours a day with summer school

Most of my highschool/college intern experience was a 40+ hour a week full time job. For a short time during highschool, I had a 10 hour a week afterschool internship.

Every engineering company has some sort of intern program. However, they likely are all full time things; you'll have to decide what is more important to you.

Also, pet peeve of mine, do not say you are working as an engineer, or are an engineer, until you own a degree that tells you so.

BX HANNAH

02-06-2010, 02:19

Both last summer (between Junior/Senior Year) and this summer (after Senior Year) I have had/will have an 8-week summer internship at NASA Glenn Research Center. I'm working in the Electric Propulsion Lab with my mentor who is an electrical engineer in the testing division there. It's pretty awesome. I still can't believe it. I work 40 hours a week, I actually work more hours than some of the civil servants there :D haha. It's really amazing though, I gained so much knowledge last summer it was incredible! I found out about it through FIRST and the heads of the program said they really look for FIRST students!

Pat Fairbank

02-06-2010, 02:34

Also, pet peeve of mine, do not say you are working as an engineer, or are an engineer, until you own a degree that tells you so.
Not to mention it's illegal to do so in many jurisdictions (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Controversies_over_the_term_Engineer), until you not only have a degree, but a licence also.

RyanCahoon

02-06-2010, 03:08

If you're looking for internships, make sure to check out small local engineering firms. A lot of times interning at a smaller business means you can work on some of the more interesting work.

I got an internship developing an embedded vision system summer after senior year because the owner of a small electronics fab house was impressed by some of the work I'd done at a demonstration my team did.

--Ryan

Zach O

02-06-2010, 06:47

Well, I'm a sophomore this year, going to be a junior, and I was originally looking for an internship. I got picked up at a robotics company as an employee for the summer (which includes pay) doing all the "intern jobs" and some iPad development.

My job should run 5 days a week, 8 hours a day, although many people may be flexible with their schedules (as long as your work ins't crucial in their company). I'm also taking online courses for summer school (since I took too many math and engineering classes to get this years required courses in :\), and that's going well so far.

I also got my summer job though FIRST.

sgreco

02-06-2010, 07:15

If you're looking for an internship ask one of of your team's sponsors. My team has had a lot of success with this in the past. 5 of our current sponsors have employed team members and we have never had any of our team members looking for a job with one of our sponsors get denied. I am currently employed close to full time over the summer making SolidWorks models for a industrial vacuum pump company, and basically designing custom applications for their pumps. All I did was ask a sponsor if for a job, and they gave it to me.

Andrew Schreiber

02-06-2010, 17:10

My younger brother did some work for Delphi a couple years ago when he was still in high school. That internship was arranged through contacts we had in FIRST. He worked 4 hours a day 5 days a week while going to school (this was for class credit).

I am currently a cooperative education student at a software company in Michigan. I found this job at an employment fair. I currently work 40 hours a week (minimum). This is for college credit.

Both positions were/are paid.

Also, pet peeve of mine, do not say you are working as an engineer, or are an engineer, until you own a degree that tells you so.

Quoted for great truthiness. I am not a Computer Scientist. I am currently a student studying Computer Science. To bestow upon yourself a title which you did not earn is disrespectful to those that earned it.

Joe Ross

02-06-2010, 19:36

You are probably too late for an internship at a large company for this summer. Typically they will have structured programs that you should be applying for months in advance. Large companies will also screen based on GPA. In college a lot of them look for a 3.0 (and many a lot higher then that), I would expect it to be even higher for high school.

As others said, your best bet will be with smaller companies that you have personal contacts with, for example your team's sponsors, your mentor's companies, and family friends. At this level one of the main criteria will be how hard you work, so hopefully you've impressed your references. At a company without a structured program you could probably negotiate your hours. However if you want to do anything "real" you're probably looking at a 40 hour week.

Also realize that a lot of employers will google you now also. Thus it's important to make sure your online personality reflects your offline personality.

Garret

02-06-2010, 23:17

In the past members from my team have gotten internships at JPL. Our mentor from JPL would help them get the internships I think. from what I have heard from them the internships are really good.

I really do not know much else other than this because most of this happened before I was on the team. All I know is that they still offer them but nothing other that.

MGoelz

03-06-2010, 10:49

You need to get pretty lucky to get them in high school.

It's not about luck. It's about who you know and how determined you are to get a position with a particular company.

During first semester of my senior year of high school, I was an intern at Rolls-Royce. Their system is really competitive. There's an application process and they only pick 6 students per semester. The experiences you gain there are invaluable, though. They rotate you through three different departments so you get a variety of experience and small projects. All but one of the students during my time there was on a FIRST team.

During second semester, I got into Allison Transmission via a mentor from my team. I've done a lot of organization and simple data analysis since I've been here. I got in the middle of a rather large project near the end of the school year, and my supervisor asked me to stay over the summer, so that's how I'm here. It wasn't hard to get the internship here at all.

Just a few pointers:
On your resume include a section about all that you've done with robotics and how that can translate into a particular company's needs.

Remember, it's a job. And you are the primary benefactor because in an internship, you are surrounded by highly knowledgable people. Always be respectful, and always be observant.

An internship is also very time consuming. During my last year of high school, I couldn't participate in very many after school activities because of it, but it was well worth it, in my opinion.

rcmolloy

03-06-2010, 12:59

Thanks to my mother and father, I will be interning at Concord Engineering Group in Voorhees, NJ. I don't know my hours and pay yet but it should be pretty solid. One of the co-workers I will be interning with and learning from is a BIG fan of FIRST and has been with it since it's EPCOT's days. I'm not sure if he has been to the recent competitions but I have heard he is a huge fan. :cool:

davidthefat

03-06-2010, 19:10

Also realize that a lot of employers will google you now also. Thus it's important to make sure your online personality reflects your offline personality.

LOLS, not a good thing on my side... BRB erasing my internet profiles... Is that even legal though? Its personal life compared to professional life.. Does not seem right

Chris is me

03-06-2010, 19:15

LOLS, not a good thing on my side... BRB erasing my internet profiles... Is that even legal though? Its personal life compared to professional life.. Does not seem right

Why would it be illegal to use Google for anything?

Be aware you can never truly "delete" anything you put on the Internet.

Joe Ross

03-06-2010, 19:21

Here's a relatively old (in internet time) article about googling potential employees: http://www.seopedia.org/tips-tricks/be-careful-what-you-write-online/

In more recent articles, I've seen that more then 50% of employers will google you now.

Communication skills is definitely something that they look at.

EricH

03-06-2010, 19:25

Personal life can often affect professional life, and vice versa. The habits you form in your personal life may or may not filter into your professional life. Employers realize this.

Let us say, for the sake of example, that I had a picture on some other website of myself and some high-school friends having a beer, and the person who was going to be employing me over the summer had access to that page (through legal means, of course--friend's father, let's say, is the employer, or privacy settings are at no privacy). What does that picture say about my likely choices? What does it say about the kind of friends I hang out with?

One picture might not do much. But let's also say that I have several pictures of that sort, taken on different days, mingled in with a few pictures of a family vacation or similar things. What pattern do you see developing if you're an employer?

If I was an employer looking at that type of thing, I'd see someone who might be having serious lapses in judgment; someone who might easily be late (hangovers); someone who doesn't follow the law (which may then come back to bite me, as you never know if they might cause something to disappear). That's what I'd see. The first two might not be a problem; the third one might be enough for me not to hire them at all.

(Note: I have no pictures of that sort that I know about, let alone having them online. The above is simply an example of what could happen.)

davidthefat

03-06-2010, 20:25

Zach O

03-06-2010, 22:16

"Davidthefat" also sounds unprofessional, but its also creative?

Unprofessional? Using "LOLS", "BRB", and random characters for anger, especially on this forum, is also unprofessional. It's completely legal for your employeer to Google you, and if I owned my own business, I'd do it frequently. Generally however, if you don't attach your name to a handle, you're good to go.

Andrew Schreiber

03-06-2010, 22:22

Oh darn, thats not good news for me in the future, I do not use good grammar nor do I use good spelling or high diction... "Davidthefat" also sounds unprofessional, but its also creative? Am I linked to criminal activities? I don't think so, but I do not have the vibe of a very professional person, but a very nonchalant person. But I guess I am also nonchalant in real life too.

1) You can change your CD username

2) Consider changing your grammar and spelling if you don't think you are professional enough.

And, yes, companies do Google for employees. Where I work does it all the time.

kjolana1124

03-06-2010, 22:30

Bmcdonnell

03-06-2010, 23:04

I got an internship working with labview, designing a program that sets off alarms if 10000 gallon tanks over flow, theres more to it, but thats the basic jist.

JamesBrown

04-06-2010, 08:52

Generally however, if you don't attach your name to a handle, you're good to go.

This is definitely not true. Think about how many accounts you have on the internet. If one of them is tied to either your name or the email address you have on your resume then a lot more can be discovered. I went through one day looking my self up and found accounts I had forgotten about. Odds are that your AIM YIM or skype IDs are attached to your forum account. I found my old accounts by searching for my old screen name (which could easily be found by searching for my email address then going through my chief delphi info).

It is important to be aware of your image online. It is not going to kill your chances of getting a job because you have some pictures online, it may raise a red flag but there are many other things to consider. I personally have a few pictures online where I have a beer in my hand (I am over 21). I would be shocked if any employer cared about them. All employers know that people go out and have a life out side of work. Your prior work history and record of academic success (for students and recent grads) as well as your drive are by far the most important things to prospective employers.

Andrew Schreiber

04-06-2010, 10:29

I'll give money to the first person who can find me on Google. I say that because no matter WHAT I DO I can't. It actually kind of depresses me xD Then again, that was before I was really active on Twitter and here, so that may change now. But before getting to my Facebook was impossible. If anyone finds me, tell me because I honestly want to know how to do it so I know what employers will be seeing.

Of course, as soon as I say this I check to find my Twitter as the fifth hit and a topic I started here the 7th

So yeah, they will find you xD

The real scary part is that you also have to watch what other people put up. Take for example, the first picture if you google for Andrew Schreiber is me. I did not put it up, nor do I recall giving consent for it to be put up (I don't really care as it was for a programming competition). The number 8 search result for my name and state is the Kettering website with several mentions of my name (including where I work). You could have a pretty good chance of hunting me down based solely on the knowledge that I am in Michigan and my name. Uh, please don't try to stalk me if you all can avoid it. (I'm looking at you Zach!)

Zach O

04-06-2010, 22:28

Uh, please don't try to stalk me if you all can avoid it. (I'm looking at you Zach!)

That was once! You didn't have to go get the police involved! And it makes it terribly hard to be at meetings while you're mentoring if I can't be within 50 feet of you...

The issue with the internet now is anyone can post anything. It can be of anyone, and even yourself without permission. Just as long as people are conscious of what their doing and what effects it might have, it seems to be no problem.

Yes, James, you're right. It's hard not to connect a name to a handle, but it can be done.

kjolana1124

04-06-2010, 22:54

The real scary part is that you also have to watch what other people put up. Take for example, the first picture if you google for Andrew Schreiber is me. I did not put it up, nor do I recall giving consent for it to be put up (I don't really care as it was for a programming competition). The number 8 search result for my name and state is the Kettering website with several mentions of my name (including where I work). You could have a pretty good chance of hunting me down based solely on the knowledge that I am in Michigan and my name. Uh, please don't try to stalk me if you all can avoid it. (I'm looking at you Zach!)

The first hit for me is a girl that goes to UNR named Kelsey Starr that plays softball. It's amusing because UNR is one of my top choices and I'm a legacy there.

Akash Rastogi

04-06-2010, 22:57

Lucky for me there's a country full of more than a billion people who have many many many Akash Rastogi's to choose from on Google. :D

But yea, enable all privacy settings on Facebook, Google Buzz, other forums you might be on, and prior to applying anywhere, check online and if you find any content about you that you don't want up, ask for it to be taken down.

I haven't had any problems, yet.
.

Zach O

04-06-2010, 23:01

But yea, enable all privacy settings on Facebook, Google Buzz, other forums you might be on, and prior to applying anywhere, check online and if you find any content about you that you don't want up, ask for it to be taken down.

You even have Buzz turned on? :D The only results for me is my Twitter, which is "protected", if anything truly can be protected on the internet. A Google Image search brings up my old Twitter picture, which I've since replaced. Luckily, no Facebook page for me, or other forums that connect my name.

Lisa Perez

04-06-2010, 23:04

Just a few pointers:
On your resume include a section about all that you've done with robotics and how that can translate into a particular company's needs.

I've found that a lot of people think that a resume needs to have job experiences on it, and that they can't start one until they've actually had a job. Not true. Even if you've never had a job before, you can use a resume to capitalize on any and all leadership, teamwork, design, and problem solving experiences that you had during high school.

Also note that you may need to have multiple resumes with different foci depending on what you're applying for.

If any of you are looking for resume feedback/editing or tips on getting one started, I'm willing to lend a hand. Just PM me :)

Chris is me

04-06-2010, 23:08

You even have Buzz turned on? :D The only results for me is my Twitter, which is "protected", if anything truly can be protected on the internet. A Google Image search brings up my old Twitter picture, which I've since replaced. Luckily, no Facebook page for me, or other forums that connect my name.

It's actually really, really hard to actually turn Buzz "off". But that's for another thread...

Do keep in mind a few things.
1. Changing privacy settings won't hide your information necessarily. If it was already up, it might still be visible. The best defense is to not put up anything you would hate to have anyone see. Don't go to parties where people take your picture, don't use the Internet as your soapbox for anything less than reasonable, etc.

2. Remember what xkcd (http://xkcd.com/137/) says on the issue.

Zach O

04-06-2010, 23:11

It's actually really, really hard to actually turn Buzz "off". But that's for another thread...

Do keep in mind a few things.
1. Changing privacy settings won't hide your information necessarily. If it was already up, it might still be visible. The best defense is to not put up anything you would hate to have anyone see. Don't go to parties where people take your picture, don't use the Internet as your soapbox for anything less than reasonable, etc.

2. Remember what xkcd (http://xkcd.com/137/) says on the issue.

Oh, of course. With someone who is on the internet as much as me (maybe not in places but in time) I try my best to learn about web security (or the lack therefore of). I've made sure that whenever I post pictures, it's either of just myself, or others in the picture are fine with me posting it.

As for Buzz, that is an issue for a different thread :P

Pavan Dave

06-06-2010, 23:44

*back from my 6+ month break from CD*

There are many internships out there its a matter of knowing people and finding them. And although you want something in your field its better to just do something although others will disagree.

I took a data entry job and came out learning how to query and make databases and presentations and other things. Make it into something you want to do. Do your job, and then some. The following summer I had something from FRC at NASA.

The other thing is be persistent and meet people. My professor once said in class that he'd choose one or two for an internship to do research. Many people laughed it off and said whatever but I went up to him after class every other week reminding him and got an internship because no one else had bothered to ask. It was that simple.

The biggest thing is that I joined a fraternity in college my freshman year. Many senior members and have gotten younger members jobs in CS, Engineering, IT, etc. and on a pretty regular basis send emails about upcoming opportunities.

Pretty much you can get an internship anywhere you just have to look and make something out of things you may or may not be interested in or want to do. But the thing that has helped me the most and that my bosses have loved are my projects here and there because they'll keep your mind fresh and you'll learn something.

Enjoy!

Pavan Davé

.

Andy Baker

07-06-2010, 08:38

In more recent articles, I've seen that more then 50% of employers will google you now.

And, we just read these (and other) threads on ChiefDelphi to witness how eloquent and brilliant some of your are, while others are foolish simpletons.

Thankfully, in this community, the brilliant outnumber the foolish. Sometimes, the foolish wise up and become brilliant in their own right. This is a neat to see.

Speaking of interns, there are currently four at AndyMark for the summer. Two work on assembly of products, one is helping to organize and streamline our processes, while another works on these two things and does a bit of robot programming.

Sincerely,
Andy Baker

rsisk

07-06-2010, 10:31

How I would like to spend my summer vacation...

Take a sabbatical for the summer and intern at AndyMark, that would be way cool. Next stop, ThinkGeek, and then wrap up the summer at IFI.

HashemReza

07-06-2010, 14:11

Really, you just have to put yourself out there.

During my Junior year, I interned with Qualcomm in their Engineering department. It was absolutely fascinating!

In fact, I write you now from my full-time senior-year internship at SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center). I'm currently working in the Unmanned Systems (a.k.a. Robotics) Branch, doing research for a Navy contract.

Really, companies like this are always looking for help from students, because each one is a valuable prospective employee. Find local companies that have past connections with your school! SPAWAR is heavily involved in one of the Robotics labs at UCSD, so there are constantly students from their engineering program here at the base.

Don't be afraid to ask, the worst someone can say is no.

RoboMom

07-06-2010, 14:17

Some advice from TrackAhead
http://www.trackahead.com/notes/How_To:_Six_Steps_To_Scoring_a_Great_Summer_Intern ship

and

10 Reasons why Every High School Student Should Volunteer
http://www.trackahead.com/notes/10_Reasons_Why_Every_High_School_Student_Should_Vo lunteer

I like TrackAhead. It is filled with common-sense advice and has some interesting blogs.

Conor Ryan

07-06-2010, 23:17

Awesome thread! Great question.

I consider myself an expert on interning. This is my 6th year interning in a row, and I got one more internship to go before I graduate college. I have interned at 6 different companies, left all of them on good terms, loved them all in their own special ways, and right now I am loving my current internship (in a lot of ways I think its the best).

Anyway, internships in high school. I got my first one through the Rutgers Dept of Material Science. They did this Nano-Technology initiative, I found out about it through a high school physics teacher, he wrote me a recommendation along with a chemistry teacher and I found myself developing next generation batteries and fuel cells for a summer. I mostly did lab rat type stuff for the summer, but it was a great hands on experience. I don't know if they still do the same initiative, but it was great. It was my first experience with lab view and some similar software, very cool all around. And they paid!! Not bad for a sophomore in high school.

My second internship in high school lasted for 2 years and it was with a small pharmaceutical marketing research firm, I found out about it through the guidance department. It was sales research, but it was interesting. Let me know if you guys need some advice with anything.

Collin Fultz

08-06-2010, 07:54

I think it's fantastic to see so many high school students interning at various companies. I've been on a few recruiting trips with my company and relevant experience (relevant sometimes being a pretty loose term) will definitely help you out. Grades are key as well, but work experience really stands out amongst a group of (usually) pretty similar resumes.

Some things to remember:

-Keep good records of things you do at each internship. A few years down the road, it may be harder to remember specifics of your tasks and accomplishments from an earlier internship. However, the more details you can give (especially in interviews), the better.

-That said, don't keep anything or reproduce anything (verbally or written) you shouldn't. Proprietary, export controlled, confidential, and private data are all very real things that should be taken seriously. If you have questions, ask.

-Remember what Mom always says, "It's not what you say; it's how you say it." Were you "inputing numbers into a database" or were you "helping a process improvement team better deliver customer solutions"? Don't lie about what you did, but odds are your "menial" task had a bigger purpose...find that purpose (again, if you don't know...ask).

-Finally, enjoy yourself. Walk around and talk to other engineers, technicians, mechanics, sales people, lawyers, program managers, etc. Most people will jump at the chance to talk to a younger person. Ask them questions about what they're doing. Do they like this company? How long have they been here? What other jobs have they had?