Major: Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical and Computing Engineering

Company: John Deere and Company

Location: Moline, Iowa

Length of Internship: 2010 Summer Internship (May-August)

How did you get your internship?
I kept my resume and cover letter updated on the company website, http://www.deere.com/en_US/careers/college/index.html. The company posts many different internships and jobs throughout the year.

Job Overview:
I worked in the Facility Engineering Department at their World Headquarters Office. I analyzed various types of lighting systems that they were looking at installing in their facilities in the United States. My main summer projects involved different facilities contacting me so I could look into replacing their current lighting systems. I would analyze the savings of installing a more energy efficient lighting system than their current one. Since I was working with many different facilities, I was able to travel and see numerous John Deere manufacturing facilities. I was in charge of writing documents that pertained to my projects and also organizing meetings to help further the project.

John Deere, as a company, is really big into self motivation and this is one reason I really enjoyed my internship. I was allowed to balance my work load as I wanted, but there was a good structure. If I wanted more projects to work on, I would either work harder to complete my current projects, or let my boss know I could handle a larger work load.

Would you return for another internship or job offer?
I would return to John Deere after I graduate for an internship, because I am going to continue to school for my masters. After my masters, I would really be interested in working for them full time.

I would like to stay working for John Deere because the structure and atmosphere of the company is something that is very important to me. During my internship, I learned so much because my boss and co-workers in my department were willing to help me on my projects. They not only wanted me to understand what I was working on, they also wanted me to enjoy my time at work. Also since the company wants people to be self-motivated, they encourage you to express your job interests. If you let your boss know what you are interested in, they are willing to fit your job to your interests.

Major: Bachelor’s of Science in Civil Engineering

Company: Kansas City Power & Light

Location: 12th & Main, Front & Manchester. Kansas City, Mo.

Length of Internship: 2010 Summer Internship (May-August)

How did you get your internship?
With the aid of Dean Kevin Truman, I was able to attain this amazing internship opportunity.

Job Overview: I worked in Transmission and Delivery—Standards (Substation)—for the first 5 weeks of my experience. During that time, I had the opportunity to do collaborative work on Wave-trap replacement designs. I also compiled device ratings for North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) records. For the remaining time at KCP&L, I worked in Central Engineering. In this department, I witnessed firsthand compliance strategies utility companies employ with regards to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. These are organizations most engineering students rarely hear or learn about during their coursework.

Would you return for another internship or job offer?
Fortunately, I was offered another internship opportunity with KCPL for summer 2011; I gratefully accepted this offer.

KCP&L truly values its workers; it does not matter if one is a full-time, part-time employee or an intern, every individual is treated in a respectful and professional manner. The lack of micromanagement at KCP&L enables employees to work in a productive environment, and encourages individuals to take responsible steps to complete projects in a timely manner. One interesting aspect of my 2010 summer experience at KCP&L is this: I had the privilege of eating breakfast with the CEO!

Major: Bachelor’s of Science in Mechanical Engineering

Company: Chevron Energy Solutions

Location: Overland Park, KS

Length of Internship: 18 months

How did you get your internship?
I found my internship at an SCE Career Fair.

Job Overview: I worked as a professional intern, which means I did the work of a staff engineer but only worked half time. Our division of Chevron was an energy service company so we would go into schools, hospitals, and government building and determine how much energy they were using for lighting, heat and air conditioning. From this information, we would see if we could save them money by switching to more efficient products. If we were able to save them enough money to pay for the upgrades over the course of 10 years, we would recommend they do the project.

Chevron marketed this to companies by showing them if the project could pay for itself over 10 years, the customer could finance it in a way that it would effectively cost the building owners nothing to have the upgrades done. The savings would make the payment on the loan, then after the 10 year repayment, the building owners would start to see the savings. It was really interesting to see how different buildings operated and to learn all about the different products on the market that save energy.

Would you return for another internship or job offer?
I would. Chevron pays their interns a very competitive pay and even offers a retirement plan. Beyond the great pay, it was a great work environment and the people were always doing what they could to make sure I was learning.

Major: Bachelor’s of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering

Company: Wayne State University

Location: Detroit, MI

Length of Internship: 8 weeks during Summer 2010

How did you get your internship?
I applied a little before the deadline, March 15, but most deadlines for these positions are in January and February. To apply, I had to write a short essay about why I wanted to do undergraduate research, obtain 2 letters of recommendation from professors, and get an official transcript. The internship was well worth the postage to mail all that information! To search all of the National Science Foundation’s undergraduate research opportunities, just go to http://www.nsf.gov/crssprgm/reu/reu_search.cfm.

Job Overview:

• Investigated wireless vehicular networks
• Compared and contrasted approximately 10 routing protocols to write a summary
• Wrote 2 technical papers after reading approximately 20 journal/conference papers
• Delivered a 20 minute technical presentation on routing protocols
• Created a poster presenting my research to professors and their graduate students

Would you return for another internship or job offer?
No, because I would like to see what a corporate internship is like. However, I think that these undergraduate internships can help give people a good idea of what working in academia is like. There is great compensation: room, board, and travel expenses are paid for, in addition to a generous stipend.