Navigate Careers
Engineering Internship Q and A
Engineering Internship Survey Responses:
1. How would you describe this engineering internship experience to others?
Abby: A great opportunity to explore many sides of structural engineering through exposure to different materials, software, codes and specialties like rail, marine, industrial, etc.
Maude: I would describe this internship experience as a very well rounded and educational experience where I had the chance to develop skills essential to success in my future career.
Jonathan: This internship is challenging, rewarding, and engaging.
Tanner: As hands on. Had the privilege to learn real world applications of my schoolwork. Was able to watch my work progress into a finished project.
Maren: This internship helped ease me into the engineering world and encouraged my development as a mechanical engineer. The job was challenging, but a great learning experience. I was able to engage with many different projects and gain experience in multiple disciplines.
2. How would you describe our company culture?
Maude: The company culture at KOA is very collaborative and motivating. As an intern company culture is essential to a successful experience. Having the chance to work in an environment with successful engineers who inspire me, while still not feeling intimidated to share my thoughts or ask questions was priceless.
Jonathan: KOA’s culture is employee focused, with an upbeat and driven work environment. Safety is the number one priority when onsite.
Tanner: Friendly.
Maren: This company has culture that is welcoming and encouraging, while also driven to be detail-oriented and successful. The employees are always willing to help and support one another. The different engineering groups communicate well with each other to coordinate projects. I always felt comfortable reaching out to project managers for opportunities to improve.
3. How did the job match your expectations?
Eric: This internship was pretty much exactly what I was hoping for when it came to the type of work I was looking for. I was looking for an internship where I would be able to work on real projects and learn how to actually be an engineer, which was exactly what I got out of this summer. I was able to see basically the full engineering process from start to finish, along with learning about portions of other projects and what its like to be an engineer at KOA.
4. Discuss the challenges of your engineering internship experience and ways they may be improved.
Maren: During my internship, I spent most of my time creating drawings of projects for internal or owner review. I think the most challenging aspect was to clearly and effectively communicate information to people who do not have the knowledge of the project you do. This means determining the best ways to dimension, label, and represent mechanical models. I found that the best way to improve was both experience and imagining you are looking at the drawings with no prior knowledge. Another challenge was learning how to operate a new CAD program (Revit) that was very different from my previous experience (SolidWorks). I think the reason I improved was by never being afraid to ask a mentor for help and learning from any mistakes I made.
5. How did you feel about your training and mentoring/supervision?
Abby: I appreciated the opportunity to do work for many different people. Everyone has different tips and tricks that they have developed with their years of experience that can be learned from. I felt comfortable asking anyone for help and everyone, from EITs to managers, was more than willing to provide help when they could.
Maude: I felt that it was a perfect balance of guidance and the chance to work on my own. I was able to develop skills and figure things out on my own, while still receiving guidance and getting questions answered whenever I needed it.
Jonathan: My initial training on software and procedures was thorough. It gave me a solid base to develop more skills from. My mentor and supervisor are knowledgeable and readily answer any questions I have.
Eric: I felt like my training and mentoring/supervision was very good this summer. Anytime I had questions I was always able to get them answered. All of the employees and managers at KOA are very helpful and great at explaining things which makes it very easy to learn and grow.
Tanner: Better than I could ask for. Explanations and reasoning were given behind every decision which allowed me to learn extremely quick.
Maren: During my internship, I spent most of my time creating drawings of projects for internal or owner review. I think the most challenging aspect was to clearly and effectively communicate information to people who do not have the knowledge of the project you do. This means determining the best ways to dimension, label, and represent mechanical models. I found that the best way to improve was both experience and imagining you are looking at the drawings with no prior knowledge. Another challenge was learning how to operate a new CAD program (Revit) that was very different from my previous experience (SolidWorks). I think the reason I improved was by never being afraid to ask a mentor for help and learning from any mistakes I made.
6. Outline one of your favorite projects.
Jonathan: A favorite project of mine was 3D scanning a facility in Cloquet, MN. Being onsite is always exciting, and the technology is fun to work with.
Tanner: Helping power and supervise industrial processes by specifying motor and instrument installation.
Maren: My favorite project was working on a manufacturing facility by routing the resin piping for future silos. I think it was my favorite because I was doing my own designing and routing for this project. I really enjoyed researching the facility and determining the best path for the piping.
7. Tell us about any new skills, techniques, and knowledge you gained this spring/fall/summer.
Abby: I expanded on my applications of concrete design. Although I have taken 2-3 classes focused on concrete, application is the best way to learn in my opinion. I was able to further develop my understanding of things such as two-way slabs and retaining walls. Last summer I mostly focused on steel, so it was cool to have a completely different experience this summer while in the same job.
Tanner: This internship provided me with experience with industrial electrical design and fluency in Revit and AutoCad.
Jonathan: I further my Revit modeling and drafting skills every day, and this summer I’ve gained more insight into the project management/organization/estimation side of things.
8. Would you recommend this internship to other students? Why or why not?
Abby: I would recommend this internship to others (I liked it so much I came back for another summer and hope to come back again during grad school). The atmosphere in the office is comfortable and supportive of learning, which makes the experience less daunting and very positive. There is plenty of opportunity to learn new things from the knowledgeable staff and the wide range of projects
Maude: Absolutely, I felt that it was a great opportunity to develop essential skills that will be important to me for the rest of my college career and my work after.
Eric: I would definitely recommend this internship to other students. This internship provides a great opportunity to learn a lot about engineering through actual project work. The people at KOA are all very helpful and do a great job answering questions, and the company culture overall is very welcoming and easy to enjoy.
Tanner: I would. The coworkers are friendly and always willing to help you.
See position openings at Krech Ojard’s Career section.
