With only ten weeks for my internship, I expected to take a small, introductory step into my future career as an electrical engineer. I thought I would be assisting with basic organizational tasks or observing a project, but I didn’t anticipate how much I would grow technically and professionally.
From day one, I was introduced to a real project and jumped straight into using AutoCAD to profiles for an ongoing project. Diving straight into a project without any prior experience really pushed me to grow and adapt quickly in a short amount of time. The whole time I was being supported by my mentor Matei Constantinescu. Whenever I encountered a challenge, he was always available to help and really took the time to explain concepts clearly to me. I always felt supported, so I was very comfortable learning new programs and jumping into projects whenever needed. Working on many different aspects of a project really helped me understand the connections between the electrical theories I learned in class with these physical systems I was designing. There’s a very rewarding feeling that comes from working on a real project for the first time, which made me always look forward to coming into work every day. I also felt a great sense of pride with being entrusted, even as an intern, to design and contribute to a real-life project. During this internship I learned five new programs, which greatly expanded my technical skills, and will be very useful for me in my future career.
One of the best parts of this internship is the opportunities to go on surveys. It is very refreshing to not come to work and sit at the same desk for eight hours a day. Even if I was only working at this company for ten weeks, I had the privilege of getting onto secure military bases, which I did not think the company would spend their time doing. Also, getting the chance to explore older and less maintained areas feels very rewarding because I had the opportunity to improve areas that really need attention. I am very fortunate that this internship has given me the confidence and technical skills to further my career as an electrical engineer.
