For my internship project they wasn't any big tangible outcome to it. What there was is a recommendation by me based on facts, evidence and decision making. For my internship project I had the goal of researching and decision on a new peace of survey equipment for my mentor. I started just looking at all of the possibilities for different total stations to get myself familiar with the market. After that i started looking at forms and review websites to see which one people liked the most. Once it was time to make a final decision I added what i thought my mentor needed for these pace of equipment along with what he would like to us. I made the decision to recommend the trimble S8, the newest trimble total station model. I think it was a good decision and it looked like my mentor was pretty intrigued with what i had to say about it. All and all i would call this project and the internship as a hole a huge success.
I developed a new appreciation for what a work day is and definitely have sympathy for people with long early morning commutes. I also developed more appreciation for a good balance between being outside and being inside. Balance in your life is very important and if you can get a good job that balances inside and outside work that is a very good benefit. I have realized that life outside of high tech high is enjoyable and is filled with more meaning within the decisions you make and actions that you chose to tackle. I also learned during my internship that work outside of the high tech high is less contrived and has more of an outstanding goal within it. Lastly my internship has influence the direction that i plan to take my life in or at least slight solidified it more. Although this did not call out to me as a job that i must do i could see myself doing this for a living. If i do i am sure that i will be happy with my choice but as for now i plan to keep most of my options open. I made a meaningful contribution to my workplace by bridging the gap from useless to useful. What i mean is by the start of my second week i have observed a lot of information and watched as my mentor taught me how to do things and by that time i was ready to get to work. I started not costing the company money by slowing people down with questions to making it money. That's is a very important gap to cross and i think if you never cross it then your internship is almost a useless endeavor.
My work was very meaningful although i was just doing the work of a job to me it was way more significant to me. That is because the work i was doing could apply to all other work that i do in the future. It has giving me useful strategies and tactics to handle all other work that i encounter in my future and help me through college and the rest of my professional career. I have learned a lot during this internship and it has giving me some perspective on the working world. It has let me know that i would like to get a job that uses math and possibly autocad. That would be careers around Architecture, Engineering, Drafting or industrial Design. With that being a goal i can design my college career around that possibly starting with an associates in Architectural Drafting or Engineering. That would lead me to bigger and greater things and i think is a good start. I think that I am very prepared and qualified for academic future and that should get me professionally prepared for anything to come in my future.
During my internship i would have questions and when i had questions i would ask them. When i asked these questions that i had i would get answers from my mentor or work partner which would clear up confusion or help me do my job better. Advocating for yourself in a work environment is very important and could be the difference between a good internship and a bad one. I think i have done a good job so far advocating for myself and asking questions.
As for being an intern that everyone remembers i am only working with two people so that's not as hard then in other bigger internships. As for the 5 tips that Dr. patton ave us i think i have done all of them quite well except for maybe tip 2 “Don't go to a meeting without a notebook.” We haven't had many meetings and i haven't brought in a notebook yet so i could work on that during the remainder of my internship. For my internship project I plan on researching and finding newer and higher tech survey equipment for my mentor. I also plan on creating a presentation about what the best options are for the price, features, compatibility, etc...
To accomplish this i will need quality internet searches, deductive reasoning, good decision making and general presentation skills. I will need some support from John to understand what he wants to be able to accomplish and what features that he would want from the new piece(s) of equipment. If all ends well John can make a superior decision on what product to buy to upgrade his equipment. Not many question have come up during the last couple of days during my internship. I think mostly because the genial ideas of surveying aren't that complicated. It is just kinda go out and get points and then go into the office and make a map with those points. The hard part comes when you actually need to do those simple concepts. There aren't many connections between High Tech High and my internship except for they call their jobs there working projects.
Some of the random and obscure places this job takes us around San Diego are pretty interesting, Like under freeway underpasses, right next to train tracks or even gated trolley electric generators. The main mission of each job or project is essential to have a very accurate map of what the client wants. That way the engineers know exactly what they are working with when the go to build that they are planning to build. I definitely need to develop some AutoCad skills for this, i have genial how to knowledge like how to draw a line but when it comes to specifics i come up short. |
AuthorI'm Andrew Walker and this is my blog about my junior internship with a surveyor. ArchivesCategories |