This past summer I was one of the 11 people to have an opportunity to intern at Solar Turbines Inc. in sunny San Diego. I worked as a Manufacturing Engineering Intern at their Kearny Mesa Facility in the Turbine Assembly area. I would be lying if I said I didn't look like a deer in the headlights for the first week- it was a huge change for me! A completely new area which I had never even visited before, new company, and missing my boyfriend. I did have my brother with me for 2 of the 3 months I was there. It took some adjusting to get used to the area where I was living, waking up at 4 and the traffic! I guess you could say that Google Maps became my new best friend since it calculated the traffic and the quickest routes to get around. I was very grateful to have my brother there for the first 2 months, it gave me a chance to explore San Diego without being alone! To my surprise, San Diego was actually quite a bit more ghetto than I had expected. When you see pictures of San Diego it is commonly of the downtown or the upper class areas, so they really miss a lot. But I was thankful enough to have found a place with the greatest roommates and a dog! As I had mentioned in a previous post, I became very good friends with the dog and he really helped me explore the neighborhood I was in and get out a little without feeling too uncomfortable. It was so nice to see him get so excited to see me whether it was at 4 a.m. or when I was getting home from work. Since I worked at a manufacturing facility, I had to keep my hours around when the workers came in, luckily I didn't have to come in when they did at 5:30, however 6 was still early enough for me, but on the bright side I was able to get off work at 2:30 and adventure around the town. I had some of the best co-workers and the greatest Mentor that I could've ever been assigned! She was very encouraging and gave me a nice transition into the industrial world. I also feel lucky enough to have gotten a female mentor so she informed me about all the clubs that Solar offered. Industry was a lot more different than had expected, however I loved it so much more than I would have thought!! I will admit, I cried on my last day of work and I was so heart broken to leave! I had learned so much valuable information that I could never have learned in school. If they had told me in my interview that I would have to wake up ultra early every day, wear steel toe boots and that my best friends would be middle aged men with kids I probably would have passed it up, however in the end it was better than I ever could imagine. I feel as this opportunity made me a more rounded engineer especially since I have an emphasis in Plastics and Composites- Turbines and Carbon Fiber don't really mix, however with the training and classes that I have had it was not a bad transition at all. Even though it was hard to be away from all my family and friends, I feel like it made me a much stronger, and I grew quite a bit from it. It taught me how to be aware of my surroundings as well as being able to focus on myself and my needs away from school. If I could have any recommendations to young women in Engineering fields, I would highly encourage them to get an internship. I can't emphasize how important it is to have one while you are in college, plus it is very nice to make more than minimum wage and get some real cash money in your pocket (even though the experience is worth more than money can offer). If you do have the chance to work for Solar Turbines I also really encourage that! The are all about safety so that was definitely an eye opener for example, I couldn't walk and text on the phone while I was working. Solar Turbines takes excellent care of their employees and safety always comes first. The final most important piece of information I have to give is to make the best out of anything you are given. This can be the case of an internship or something else like a job or a class. If you make it out to be the best thing and give it all of your energy it will be so much better versus what would happen if you didn't. I was talking to another intern and he was talking about his experience and how it was not that good at all, but I blame this on his negativity and unwillingness to go out of his way to make it the best experience he could. I feel like I fully immersed myself in this internship- I lived, breathed, slept Turbines. I tried to go above and beyond on all of my projects and I feel like that definitely paid off. I was asked many times if I will be back next year, however as much as I would love to, I want to try and get experience at another company that way I have as much experience as possible on my resume. I am so thankful for everyone who helped me through this journey- My boyfriend, family, friends and all the new friends that I have made from Solar Turbines.
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AuthorMy name is Elaine Cope, I am studying Manufacturing Engineering. I decided to make this blog with hopes to inspire other young female engineers to pursue their dreams. Archives
November 2019
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