Industry-specific co-ops and internships are key

Companies continue to rely on internships and co-ops to find fresh talent with experience in relevant industries

Interns get a realistic perspective on employer expectations and work values

By Danek S. Kaus
Contributing Editor

'In today’s competitive market it’s important for students to get experience in the workplace prior to graduation,” says Lisa deCordova, college recruiting manager at Harris Corporation (Melbourne, FL). “Most companies are looking for students who have completed at least two internships.”

Harris focuses on communication markets like wireless, broadcast, government and network support, with sales and service in 150 countries. Although the company employs people in a wide variety of engineering disciplines, the majority of its intern and co-op programs are in software, electrical, manufacturing and industrial engineering, and in supply chain and procurement.

Typically about forty students participate in the Harris summer intern program and about 100 are in its co-op program. The company offers a supportive, creative and technically challenging work environment that cultivates skills and abilities. “Interns are a part of the cutting-edge technical work taking place in all our divisions,” says deCordova.

A high percentage of Harris interns become employees. “At our Melbourne division, for example, 70 percent of graduating seniors with open requisitions in their majors received offers last year,” deCordova notes.

An internship helped Jahmar Ignacio choose Harris
Jahmar Ignacio is a systems integration and test engineer at Harris. He joined the company after earning his BS in computer engineering at the University of Central Florida (Orlando, FL) in August 2008.

Ignacio says he learned a lot about Harris as a summer intern. He had the opportunity to visit several of the company’s Florida sites. “We were treated like engineers, like real employees,” he says. “They didn’t just give us busy work!”

As an intern he worked on an internal program, helping engineers to make more accurate bids on proposals for future projects. As a fulltime employee, he’s executing test procedures and performing regression testing. One of his recent projects involved a flight control system used by the FAA in Alaska to monitor weather. “It’s really exciting,” he says. “I’m doing something different every day.”

Ignacio notes that the company employs many other new-grad engineers, along with more experienced folks who know the technology and inner workings of the company. “I didn’t expect to work with such a variety of people,” he says.

Ignacio had interned at other companies before Harris and urges others to do internships. “It not only gives you an edge in finding a job, it gives you a chance to see if you like the work and helps you make informed decisions about your major and career path,” he says. “Once I’d done an intership at Harris, I knew I was in the right place.”

Ignacio hopes to be in a leadership position some day. “Engineering is a great field, an ever-changing area,” he says. “Nothing stays the same and you don’t do the same thing two days in a row.”

Internships draw students to energy
An internship is not required to get a job at Colorado Springs Utilities (Colorado Springs, CO). “But knowing our culture and infrastructure certainly helps,” says HR workforce planning staffing specialist Jose A. Hernandez.

The utility offers internships for electrical, mechanical, civil, environmental and chemical engineering students. On average it hires ten interns per year, although the number has gone as high as twenty. Between 2003 and 2007 all of the company’s Inroads (www.inroads.org) interns became employees, as did 80 percent of the 2008 interns.

Hernandez says that internships introduce students to the energy industry, which is becoming a more active employer, due to changing regulations and a focus on renewable energy development. “By tapping the talents and enthusiasm of interns, project needs get met and interns become interested in the field,” he notes. “It’s a win-win situation.”

Anne Mestas is an Inroads intern at Colorado Springs Utilities
Anne Mestas is hoping to turn her internship at Colorado Springs Utilities into a job when she graduates in 2009. Inroads connected her with the company.

Mestas has been with the utility since the spring of 2005. After her third summer working there full time she was asked to stay on during the school year. She works fifteen hours a week as an engineering support tech while carrying a full class load. “It’s up to your manager to decide whether or not to extend the internship,” she says.

Mestas started in the continuous improvement group, which does quality control. After working with several managers there she moved on to the analytics group in energy engineering and is currently in the substation design group.

Her experience has been challenging but informative. “A lot of really intelligent people have taught me a lot of things I wouldn’t have learned without the internship,” she says. “I started school with an undecided major. Now I know I want to work on power systems projects.”

Mestas is working towards her BSEE at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. She is pleased to have internship coordinators helping her get through the program. “My managers are interested in finding out what I like to do and teaching me,” she says.

As she’s progressed through her internships Mestas has realized the importance of the power industry. “I feel it’s a field where I can make a difference,” she says.

NRC gives students practical experience
The student career experience program (SCEP) at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC, Washington, DC) gives students the opportunity to apply classroom knowledge in a professional setting.

“Students get to experience the nuances and unwritten rules of the workplace,” says recruitment program manager Peggy Etheridge. “This can help affirm or determine their academic and career interests.”

The intent of the co-op program is to recruit students for permanent placement at the NRC. Students get to combine theory with practical work experience that’s closely related to their educational programs and career goals. “The academic and practicum connection is expected to produce a well-rounded entry-level employee,” says Etheridge.

She adds that students also get exposure to the latest energy technology. “Our co-op program prepares them for transition to today’s workforce.”

NRC’s Sophie Le works on medical radiation safety
Sophie J. Le has already worked on several projects for the U. S. NRC, even though she’s just a junior at South Carolina State University (Orangeburg, SC).

Le’s now in a co-op program but she did a ten-week summer internship at NRC first. Her projects have included creating databases for medical events.

She’s currently working with the medical radiation safety team in the federal and state materials and environment division. “I’m able to engage in projects that spark my interest and keep me abreast of the health physics world and its regulatory side,” she says.

Le describes the NRC as very flexible. She works summers and on winter breaks to meet the minimum 640-hour-a-year work requirement. She can choose among several branches and divisions to get a broad range of experience. She notes that the NRC has been named a “best place to work” by several different organizations. “I agree with that assessment,” she says.

Le is pursuing a double major in radiochemistry and physics. She knew as a child that she wanted to work in medicine and the more she learns the more she’s certain of her career path. “I did an on-site visit while working on an environmental report review of two nuclear plant proposals,” she says.

Le respects the role the NRC plays in protecting the nation from nuclear-related accidents. Given the seriousness of its mission, she still finds everyone at NRC friendly and upbeat. “I don’t feel intimidated,” she says. “I’m never afraid to ask questions.”

Le believes that getting firsthand experience as an intern can help determine a student’s career. She wants to pursue a doctorate in public health or chemistry and eventually conduct research on the medical implementation of radioisotopes.

Parsons needs new engineers
Staffing director Jim Ridings says that Parsons Corporation (Pasadena, CA) wants all types of engineers, including civil, electrical, mechanical, structural and nuclear. Internships are a good first step to a permanent job; ideal intern candidates have finished their first year of college.

Parsons is an engineering and construction company that provides technical and management solutions in a variety of markets: communications, defense, education, energy, environmental, healthcare, infrastructure, life sciences, transportation, vehicle inspection, water/wastewater and more.

Parsons plans to hire about 300 engineers annually through 2010. Approximately 110 participated in an internship or co-op during 2008. “Students work with a project manager or department head on assignments along the lines of their degrees,” says Ridings.

He notes that Parsons is particularly interested in new grads. “We need to bring in younger engineers,” he says. “Interns are the lifeblood of our company. Engineers are what we are made of.”

Nichole Stromsness has worked in several disciplines at Parsons
Nichole Stromsness has been an intern at Parsons for the past two years, working part time during the school year and full time in the summers.

She became involved with the company’s early career professional program during her 2008 summer internship. The group meets once a month, organizes phone conferences on career and personal development, and provides website guidance on such topics as resume building and finding a mentor. “In one meeting we had a conference call with the CEO,” she says. “We asked him questions like how to be a better engineer and where he’s taking the company.”

Because Parsons is a large company with many locations, Stromsness has had a wide variety of experiences. She’s learned design principles in several disciplines and she’s worked with water and electrical systems.

Stromsness is currently working part time at the San Luis Obispo office, where she’s involved with environmental engineering. At Pasadena HQ, she got experience in civil engineering principles and AutoCad.

She says that permanent employees stay within their chosen disciplines, but as an intern she gets to dabble. “I got to work on electrical layouts at one point,” she says. “I’m learning more than I would if I had to stay within one discipline.”

Stromsness is on track to earn her BSCE at California Polytechnic Institute (San Luis Obispo, CA) in June 2009. She’s feeling the stress of completing her senior project and is anxious to be done with this part of her life. “But I know I’ll miss it,” she says.

Stromsness is hoping to join the company after graduation and has already referred two friends for fulltime positions. “One of them will be working at the Irvine office,” she reports.

Diversity is key to Adtran’s co-op program
Adtran, Inc (Huntsville, AL) is a global manufacturer of networking and communications equipment for delivering voice, data and Internet communications across copper, fiber and wireless network infrastructures.

Because of the nature of its work, most of Adtran’s 120 co-op students are focused in electrical or computer engineering. HR manager Frank Humphrey says that students in the program are required to do three or four co-op semesters, alternating with semesters on campus. “They rotate in and out of the program,” he says.

The company prides itself on the development of talent, and works intensively with new engineers. “We want to make sure they truly understand their tasks, whether they are hardware or software engineers,” says Humphrey. “Our goal is to get them to the point where they can work on their own.”

Diversity is a key aspect of Adtran’s program. The company focuses on minority schools in its recruiting efforts and fosters relationships with minority engineering groups like the NSBE.

Delores Parker is in Adtran’s co-op program
Delores Parker is in her second working semester as an Adtran co-op. She alternates semesters between working full time and taking classes. She will complete three or four working semesters by the time she finishes the program.

Parker says she’s treated like a regular employee with her own office and projects. “I get to be hands-on and show what I’m capable of,” she says. “I’m enjoying everything I do.”

Parker is in a new group this rotation so her assignments have changed. She recently wrote code and designed a memory test for Adtran’s NetVanta 3430 modular router. “We wrote the actual test used on the processor to make sure it’s writing and reading memory correctly,” she says.

When she gets a new assignment Parker meets with her supervisor for a discussion just like a regular employee. She’s constantly in touch with the labs, but most of her work is done in her office. Her days are full of variety, she reports.

Parker is now in her junior year at Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University (Huntsville, AL). She’s majoring in electrical engineering with a computer science concentration.

Today Parker highly recommends Adtran’s co-op program, but she thought long and hard before committing to it herself. “I wasn’t sure I wanted to go to school an extra three years,” she says. “It’s also a juggling act trying to take classes that are only offered in certain semesters.”

As Parker experiences new situations and projects her dreams for the future keep changing. She wants to be in a position where she can make a significant contribution, which may mean getting a masters. “The more I learn, the more I’ll see what really fits,” she says.

Pitney Bowes works closely with Inroads
Pitney Bowes (PB, Stamford, CT) has been partnering with Inroads since 1987 when it formed a strategic relationship with the internship program. The goal was to create a continuous pipeline for developing new, diverse talent.

Historically, the company has recruited fifteen to twenty Inroads students annually. Depending on business needs, the company looks for mechanical, industrial and human factor engineers.

Strategic talent management and global diversity director T. Hudson Jordon says that interns are placed in various lines of business with a manager who has a vested interest in developing each intern’s talent. “We offer challenging assignments to nurture their growth and enhance their skills,” she says. Career development workshops and executive networking events are also available.

Michael Lorello has built a career at Pitney Bowes
A co-op program brought senior engineer Michael Lorello to Pitney Bowes in January 1995 and he’s been there ever since. He also did two summer internships at PB while earning his 1997 BS in computer and systems engineering at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI, Troy, NY).

Lorello recalls that his first project was working with existing hardware and software to control a motor. The concept was new to him, but the engineers were more than happy to get him up to speed. “They helped build my confidence as an engineer,” he says. “They also gave me access to new tools, tips and tricks that I applied at school.”

Lorello says that he got to see what a real engineering environment looks like, and to “test-drive” his career. He found that he enjoyed design work on embedded control systems, which helped him select his remaining course work. But he also realized that he was lacking some needed knowledge, so he went on to earn a masters. “It was an eye-opening experience,” he says.

Today Lorello has come full circle. He’s worked with many co-op students over the years and is now co-op coordinator for his department. His duties include presenting at information sessions, attending career fairs and interviewing candidates. “I’d had such a successful experience,” he says. “I wanted to tell students about the benefits of doing a co-op and getting real-world experience.”

Lorello has seen many students learn a lot about their chosen fields that isn’t taught in class. But he’s also seen a few realize that engineering is not for them. “The co-op experience can help alter your direction before it’s too late,” he says.

Rockwell Collins interns work in teams
“Our interns acquire a realistic perspective on employer expectations and work values,” says Gwen Lange, project specialist for engineering and technology at Rockwell Collins (Cedar Rapids, IA).

The company’s summer engineering projects program (SEPP) builds teams of interns in complementary engineering disciplines who come from universities across the nation. Students may be systems and software engineering majors as well as electrical, mechanical, industrial, aerospace and quality majors.

Established in 1995, the program offers interns the opportunity to use classroom knowledge in a corporate setting while working as a team. “Each team presents its project to executive leadership several times throughout the program to give them experience in a business presentation environment,” Lange adds.

Although it’s not necessary to have completed the SEPP program to get a job at the company, Rockwell Collins considers those who do participate among the elite engineering students in the country. “They acquire knowledge about the skills and behaviors that are needed, valued and rewarded in our workforce,” Lange says. “Our program goal is to hire these interns.”

Rockwell Collins SEPP program helped define Roshni Patel’s career
Roshni Patel is an electrical engineer in the government systems business unit at Rockwell Collins. She’s been with the company since earning her 2006 BSEE with minors in math and business management at the University of Iowa (Iowa City, IA).

As a SEPP intern Patel learned what it’s like to be an engineer, but she also got the chance to see what the company had to offer. She believes that internships are critical to fields like engineering because there’s such a wide range of career paths. “Even if the internship you select isn’t ideal, the experience exposes you to other areas in the company that may be a better fit,” she says. “My experience helped define my career.”

When Patel first came on board she worked on an internal R&D program, designing a high-bandwidth, high-throughput modem for unmanned aerial vehicles. She then worked on several government satellite communication programs, traveling to California to conduct nuclear survivability testing. She’s now working in surface navigation, designing GPS units for the U.S. Army.

Patel appreciates the company’s commitment to employees. She says that Rockwell Collins lives up to its motto of “building trust every day” in its relationships with customers and the community as well as its employees. “I’m happy to see the company encourage employees to help others,” she says. “Volunteering is such a humbling experience.”

Patel likes leading a design group and helping bid new programs. She’d like to earn an advanced degree and take on a role that involves broader leadership. “I like new challenges,” she says.

Union Pacific: interns bring new skills
“We’re a company that’s been in business for many, many years, and we use our interns in areas where their education can really help out,” says Dina Tilgner, general director of recruitment for Union Pacific Railroad (Omaha, NE). “New grads bring ready-to-deploy skill sets that we might otherwise have to train for.”

Union Pacific recruits primarily EE, CE and ME majors, but “we do have some needs for people in areas like engineering technology,” Tilgner says. Summer internships are available in some areas, but in safety-sensitive engineering positions “We like them to stay for at least six months,” to be sure that they are thoroughly familiar with the railroad’s safety procedures, she notes.

Forty core schools are on the railroad’s recruiting list, including HBCUs Jackson State, Clark Atlanta and Tuskegee. Tilgner says that although the railroad is “watching the economy,” it still expects to bring in fifty interns in the summer of 2009, and hopes to maintain the program at close to that level. “We really like the chance to see the intern, and have the intern see us, before we make a job offer. We find it’s a much better fit on both sides,” Tilgner observes.

D/C

Danek S. Kaus is a freelance business journalist and ghostwriter based in Silicon Valley.

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