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Mechanical Engineering Internship for College students

Stockmanreef

Well Known Member
Folks--

My daughter is a sophomore at Olin College of Engineering (just outside Boston) and is a mechanical engineering student. She is looking to do an internship this summer and I was wondering if anyone out in the Van's Airforce community had any ideas or knows of any internships at the companies they work for or own.

I know that this post is a long shot, but I figured I would try.

Thanks
Ken
 
This post may be a long shot but it's a great idea. I wish I had thought of it. My son is also in engineering school looking for an internship. Good luck with the search!
 
If someone is interested in machining/manufacturing side let me know and I can ask, in the summers we have in the past hired interns and I can ask if that will happen again.
 
Have her check with her program director or the ME chairman or counselors.

When I was an ME student (45 years ago) my school had arrangements with several local companies for internships. We not only got paid but also received elective credit hours.
 
The company I work for [Intelligrated - now part of Honeywell] frequently hires interns and co-ops for a variety of Engineering disciplines. Intelligrated has offices in various locations around the country. Intelligrated.com
Good Luck
 
thanks for all the replies. I really appreciated it. She is willing to go anywhere (but home) for an internship. We are trying to convince her to co-op, but most people at her school do interns and not co-ops. With that said, they can do what ever. The school is very open to them taking time off to get experience. She could even take a full year off.

RV8JD--She tried Boeing, but I think that they were looking for Juniors and probably coops and not interns. In fact, she went to Boeing last summer to do research with one of her professors.

N395V--she has talked with her school. They have a great program for internships. I think that the issue is that for sophomores in ME it is harder to find internships. The electrical and computer engineers have an easier time. She can stay at school and do research for several professors, but she would really like to get out in the "real" world this summer.

ty1295--what kind of machining/manufacturing?

dwranda--where is your son going to school and what is her studying?

Again, I really appreciate the replies. I know that Van's airforce will get significantly more than the standard annual dues, if the path forward pans out.

Thanks again.

Ken
 
The National Labs (Lawrence Livermore, Sandia, etc) sponsor summer students. Check out the DOE web page for info (for some it may already be too late).
 
Ken,
My son is at Embry-Riddle studying aerospace engineering. He's applied to Nasa, Boeing, and Lockheed Martin but hasn't heard anything from them yet. I was hoping being on deans list and the experience helping to build our airplane would give him an edge. Time will tell. It would be nice to have him home for the summer, but I'd rather have him on an internship. Good luck with your search! Thanks for asking!
Dave
 
Patent Office

The US Patent Office in Alexandria VA has internships. I think they are unpaid tho. If she's interested, I can check.

Dave
 
ACE Program

The lead computer scientist for the USAF works at Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in Rome, NY at the old Griffiss AFB. He established this ACE program: Advanced Course in Engineering that has been running for several years now. This is a summer internship specifically oriented in Cyber Security. https://afstem.afciviliancareers.com/internships-fellowships-and-apprenticeships.html They are co-located with one of the 6 UAS test sites (NUAIR) in the country and combine some efforts during the program. And the 12k ft runway (KRME) will allow you drop-off and pick-up your child with your RV!
 
Internships

I work for Raytheon. We hire hundreds of interns for 8-10 weeks during the summer. We pay for housing and possible travel (not 100% sure of the travel part). Raytheon is a very large company with divisions in many places throughout the country and they all hire interns.

I am a Sr. ME at Raytheon Missile Systems in Tucson AZ. We hire 20+ ME interns every summer just in my center. We have many centers (EE, test, software etc). All these centers hire interns.

I have been involved in hiring many of the interns and young engineers over the past several years. The hope is for both the intern and the company to learn about each other to see if it is good fit all around. Many of our interns are invited back the next year and typically get a job offer when graduated.

Raytheon pays interns very well (far better then I got paid as a Grumman Aerospace Scholar/intern back in the early 80's even if you include inflation).

The applicant needs to have a very good GPA. 3-4.00 but closer to 4.00 is better. Typically the applicant must have completed their first year of engineering classes (going into their Sophomore year), but priority is typically given to applicants that have more engineering fundamentals completed and are entering there junior year. It is also important to have Outside the classroom interests and technical club activities (Robotics, solar cars, Rocket club, UAV/UGV/UUWV club, Electronics clubs, software clubs, Build and fly clubs, etc). Students with a technology interest and passion is what Raytheon looks for in the applicant. Most students are book smart. But not all are active with the technology mentioned in the clubs I identified.

Anyone looking for an internship or job can go to Rayjobs.com and search. If anyone has a student interested in applying for an ME internship with Raytheon in Tucson send me a private message and I can try to help.
 
Paul, Thanks for the info!! I believe my son is looking at the website right now. I also want to add that I ordered a banner from you and received it last week. It's really nice!!
Thanks,
Dave
 
It is also important to have Outside the classroom interests and technical club activities (Robotics, solar cars, Rocket club, UAV/UGV/UUWV club, Electronics clubs, software clubs, Build and fly clubs, etc). Students with a technology interest and passion is what Raytheon looks for in the applicant. Most students are book smart. But not all are active with the technology mentioned in the clubs I identified.

I work for one of your competitor/partners on other projects.

That quote above is so true, unfortunately it extends into those that have graduated and moved into the field full time. As a Manufacturing Engineer a daily adventure is my wanting to strangle some design engineer that made a drawing and has never seen a shop, let alone how to make something or measure it.

I would highly suggest all engineering students to get hands on experience and knowledge.
 
Agreed!

I would highly suggest all engineering students to get hands on experience and knowledge.
Indeed - I think this goes for all disciplines. When I'm interviewing, I want to know what the candidate has at home, systems they manage in the cloud, and what they spend their "spare" time doing. If you're under 30 and are not interested enough in your field to do it (at least a little) in your spare time, you are probably not for my company.
 
Olin, the college my daughter goes to, is trying to change the way engineering is taught. The school mixes standard book learning with team based project learning. Typically a student will have completed 15-20 projects during their undergraduate career. In their first semester they do projects that would typically be completed in Junior year of a typical engineering program. It is definitely a cool school if you are into mechanical, electrical or computer engineering. But once you are there, then you are committed. There are no other degrees. On the upside, students can take courses at Wellesley, Babson, and Brandies, so they do have the ability to expand into a more diverse course selection. All kids have to have a secondary concentration (I think). My daughter's is sustainability.

Thanks again. I was not sure what kind of response I would get.

ken
 
Whoaa great Thread..:cool:

I wish we had that type of support over here. It's really pleasing to see so many opportunities offered to the young engineer students there. :cool:
 
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