ANSYS Co-op Reflection

Name: Zach Davis

Type of Project: Co-op

 1) Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project.

 For my step project I did two rotations of a co-op at ANSYS Inc., a software company based out of Canonsburg, PA. During my time at ANSYS I worked on two different teams working on a variety of products and software, putting to practice the computer science knowledge I have gained throughout my education so far.

2) What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project?

The goals and expectations I have for myself are two of the major things that changed during my STEP project. Since high school I have always had the loose plan in my head that I would pursue a computer science/programming career. However before this I have never had the chance to experience what it is truly like to have a career in this field. I enjoy working with computers and programming various things, but I have always had some small doubt in the back of my mind, wondering if this is truly what I would want to be doing for the majority of my life. My time at ANSYS as a software developer allowed me to obtain concrete experience and make better career decisions about my future.

3) What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you?

 The majority of events that modified my beliefs were just the day-to-day tasks that I worked on, and how they differed from the work I have done in the past. I experienced what it was like to work on larger scale projects as opposed to smaller homework assignments that I would work on for my college classes.  Working as a part of a larger team was a new experience for me as well. The majority of the members were based in France, so I had to learn to account and plan for this difference. However I always had multiple other coworkers I could contact and use as a resource if I had a question or ran into trouble. A part of this environment is present as a college student, having various professors and students as resources, however the environment felt different.

Working in an office environment such as one at ANSYS is another aspect that changed my beliefs and gave me more insight into my future career. I felt a lot more comfortable using coworkers and teammates as resources when I ran into issues. And along with that I learned the value of networking and maintaining work relationships. Having a 40-hour work week was another new experience that differed greatly from being a student. It felt great to be able to go home after a day of work, and then simply be done. I wouldn’t really have to worry much about work, as I could do that when I got back in the next morning. As a student I am never done, even when I get home. In fact the majority of your work, and stress that comes along with that work, takes place while at home. All your assignments and studying are done outside of class. I know that typically salaried employees still have responsibilities outside of the 8-hour workday, but this was not what I experienced as an hourly co-op.

A valuable relationship I had from my co-op was with my second-rotation manager. I was on a smaller team, based in France. My manager had his desk adjacent to mine, and was the only team member that was at the same office location as me. As a result he was usually my go-to person when I had a question. The developers located in France would be done for the day around noon my time, so often they were not an option until the following day. Along with being available to answer questions daily, we also had weekly meetings. One main purpose of these meetings were just to give updates about the projects that I was working on. However we often discussed various aspects of professional development and careers, with topics similar to what I have wrote about in this reflection. I gained a lot of valuable knowledge and direction from these meetings, helping me think about what specialization within computer science I want to focus on, and the decision to get more internship/co-op experience at a different company before I graduate.

4) Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life?

Pretty soon I will be graduating from college, and hopefully starting my career shortly afterwards. I will need to decide on which field within computer science I want to work in, and what company I will start my career with. This is a big decision that will greatly affect my adult life, and I want to make sure I do not make any mistakes. As discussed before, I did not have any concrete experience on what it is like to work with computer science. However, after my first software development co-op I now have a baseline for what to expect in the future. I now know for sure that I enjoy programming professionally, now the choice is what specialization I want to go into.  And after this upcoming summer’s internship, I will have a second point of reference to further refine my preferences and goals. All of these factors will set me up for success after I graduate.

 

 

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