#AVANCEONLIFE: Transitioning from Intern to Engineer: Leveraging Lessons Learned
After starting a full-time position as an entry level engineer, there is no shortage of new concepts, procedures, and technologies to learn and familiarize myself with. In addition to these technical hurdles to leap over, there is also the need to adapt to the culture and environment of your workplace. It can be hard to relate to your new colleagues without making an effort to getting to know them professionally. Managing all of these tasks simultaneously can be overwhelming, especially for a fresh engineer who has minimal or no professional experience in their field. Fortunately, my personal experience as a new entry level engineer was not as daunting as it may seem, since I started this development process earlier as an engineering intern.
There are many benefits to interning. Not only are you getting your foot in the door at a new company, but you are also building valuable relationships that can help you secure a job in the future. Internships may not be very glamorous, but if you work really hard and are open to learning everything that you can, it will pay off. Internships allow you to explore various careers at a pretty low risk for a short amount of time.
During my internship, I was exposed to various technical concepts and tools that I now use daily. And when first working with this software as an intern, there was certainly a learning curve. It was important to not only gain an understanding of the functionality of what I was working with, but to also understand the “why” behind using these tools and standard engineering procedures. It turns out that my internship experience allowed me to really hit the ground running when I started my fulltime position. My colleagues did not have to worry so much about teaching me specific tools.
Similarly, my internship allowed me to begin understanding and appreciating the culture of Avanceon and the people I was working with. I was able to easily determine that I would enjoy working here permanently. Looking back on my internship, as well as my first several months as a full-time engineer, it became very clear that the ability to grasp a company’s culture and take time to learn various technical skills during this development period was invaluable. The ability to develop and grow in these key areas early on was a significant benefit when the time came to transition into an engineering role, and certainly made the seemingly chaotic process seamless and efficient.
If you’re a student or new graduate with an interest in controls engineering or system integration, Avanceon is happy for you to apply to intern or new grad positions. We are always looking to add exceptional talent to our team.
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