LINK Project Reflection
1) What are your overall feelings / reflections about this experience?
Overall, this internship shadowing Mark Gorman at Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has been one of the most enriching and helpful experiences of my entire life. At SNC, I was exposed not only to the working world and the world of engineering, but I also had the opportunity to work under strict confidence with a multi-billion dollar company. I worked with one of SNC’s biggest programs completing necessary work for the company and even met a couple of astronauts.
2) Was it what you thought it was going to be? Why or why not?
Although this experience was unique and valuable, it wasn’t exactly what I expected coming in to the internship on March 3rd. While setting up my internship, I knew that Mark worked at an engineering firm and, without asking, assumed that he was an engineer. On my first day, I learned this was not the case. After getting bored of drawing parts as a design engineer, Mark has moved through many positions at SNC, and is now an operations analyst. Throughout my internship, I did a lot of deskwork with Excel and highlighters, but also learned that this is very similar to what engineers do.
Coming in, I though of engineering as a very hands-on job, but after interviewing many engineers during my three week internship here, I have realized that they spend a lot of time behind their computer screens. When I think about pursuing a career that with keep me happy and satisfied, I don’t think of sitting behind a computer. This experience has helped me realize that engineering may not be the best career for me. The more I think about it, the more appealing a career in medicine is beginning to sound to me. I would love that you get to interact with people every day and that you get to take care of people face-to-face. In conclusion, my three weeks spent at SNC with Mark have helped me see that engineering may not be the career for me and encouraged me to look into other career paths.
3) What was the most memorable experience?
Looking back at my time with SNC, the most memorable experience was being invited to a barbecue / potluck with many of Mark’s coworkers. This allowed me to meet people outside of Mark’s area including some engineers. I also got to see a new side of the company, which I hadn’t seen before. This was an interesting experience for me to see the social aspect of SNC.
4) How did this experience affect your goals?
After doing this internship, I have realized engineering may not be the career for me. As a hands-on learner, I need to work beyond a computer screen and that I need face-to-face interaction with other people. This affects my college goals because I am now less interested in specifically engineering colleges and am looking more into colleges that offer pre-medicinal programs.
5) Was this a valuable experience?
Absolutely. This internship, which I deem a completely valuable experience, may have changed my entire career path. Not only do I now have a better idea of what an engineer does and the different types of engineers that exists, but I have a better feel about whether or not this is what I want to pursue.
6) If you could change one thing, what would it be?
If I could start over with this internship, I would ask for more interaction and shadow opportunities with engineers throughout the company. Although I go to interview many different types of engineers, I never shadowed them, and I would have like to have met with a design engineer.
7) Do you feel like you helped the company?
Yes, I completed many tasks and created many documents that will be used by the company in the future. I especially helped my mentor complete his daily work, which he finds tedious. I created schedules that will hopefully be followed, sheets to be used on a daily basis, and organized information into Excel spreadsheets and specifically template Word documents.
Overall, this internship shadowing Mark Gorman at Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) has been one of the most enriching and helpful experiences of my entire life. At SNC, I was exposed not only to the working world and the world of engineering, but I also had the opportunity to work under strict confidence with a multi-billion dollar company. I worked with one of SNC’s biggest programs completing necessary work for the company and even met a couple of astronauts.
2) Was it what you thought it was going to be? Why or why not?
Although this experience was unique and valuable, it wasn’t exactly what I expected coming in to the internship on March 3rd. While setting up my internship, I knew that Mark worked at an engineering firm and, without asking, assumed that he was an engineer. On my first day, I learned this was not the case. After getting bored of drawing parts as a design engineer, Mark has moved through many positions at SNC, and is now an operations analyst. Throughout my internship, I did a lot of deskwork with Excel and highlighters, but also learned that this is very similar to what engineers do.
Coming in, I though of engineering as a very hands-on job, but after interviewing many engineers during my three week internship here, I have realized that they spend a lot of time behind their computer screens. When I think about pursuing a career that with keep me happy and satisfied, I don’t think of sitting behind a computer. This experience has helped me realize that engineering may not be the best career for me. The more I think about it, the more appealing a career in medicine is beginning to sound to me. I would love that you get to interact with people every day and that you get to take care of people face-to-face. In conclusion, my three weeks spent at SNC with Mark have helped me see that engineering may not be the career for me and encouraged me to look into other career paths.
3) What was the most memorable experience?
Looking back at my time with SNC, the most memorable experience was being invited to a barbecue / potluck with many of Mark’s coworkers. This allowed me to meet people outside of Mark’s area including some engineers. I also got to see a new side of the company, which I hadn’t seen before. This was an interesting experience for me to see the social aspect of SNC.
4) How did this experience affect your goals?
After doing this internship, I have realized engineering may not be the career for me. As a hands-on learner, I need to work beyond a computer screen and that I need face-to-face interaction with other people. This affects my college goals because I am now less interested in specifically engineering colleges and am looking more into colleges that offer pre-medicinal programs.
5) Was this a valuable experience?
Absolutely. This internship, which I deem a completely valuable experience, may have changed my entire career path. Not only do I now have a better idea of what an engineer does and the different types of engineers that exists, but I have a better feel about whether or not this is what I want to pursue.
6) If you could change one thing, what would it be?
If I could start over with this internship, I would ask for more interaction and shadow opportunities with engineers throughout the company. Although I go to interview many different types of engineers, I never shadowed them, and I would have like to have met with a design engineer.
7) Do you feel like you helped the company?
Yes, I completed many tasks and created many documents that will be used by the company in the future. I especially helped my mentor complete his daily work, which he finds tedious. I created schedules that will hopefully be followed, sheets to be used on a daily basis, and organized information into Excel spreadsheets and specifically template Word documents.