1. My STEP project consisted of an internship experience at Nexceris LLC located in Columbus. Throughout this past summer, I got a lot of materials science experience and was exposed to what a possible career focused on materials science could be. I also was responsible for living on my own, paying rent and utilities, and preparing my meals.
2. This experience had a huge impact on my idea on what kind of full-time job I get after I graduate. My internship consisted of a wide variety of work, ranging from computer business-oriented work to mixing chemicals in the lab. I had very limited experience with the lab work prior to this internship. I ended up finding out that I did not enjoy it. I realized I would rather be doing more business-oriented work than materials science research in the lab. So now as I begin applying for full time jobs, I am going to stay away from lab research type jobs. I do not see myself enjoying that work.
Throughout the summer I also greatly improve my cooking abilities and confidence I have cooking things. I had done very little cooking before this experience, and I did not enjoy it at all. Throughout the summer I was forced to cook for most of my meals and began to enjoy it. My confidence slowly grew, and I am now not afraid to try and cook complicated dishes. The internship in Columbus made this growth possible, and I can continue to build upon my cooking skills for the rest of my life.
3. My new understanding of what career I would like to go into was a result of my wide variety of work and observing what my coworkers work was like. Instead of just directly working for one supervisor, I was assigned work from several different people. This gave me a wide variety of tasks I took on throughout the summer. I had lab-oriented work where I mixed chemicals, packed pellets of powder, and measured properties of suspensions. I also did market research, which consisted of online research and talks with outside sources. On another project, I looked into intellectual property and Nexceris’s position relative to other companies. These projects along with several others gave me experience working in many different areas, and I was able to see what I like to do and what I did not.
Throughout the summer I was able to observe what people around Nexceris were doing in their day to day work. Since it is a small company, I was able to work closely with lots of different areas within the business. I saw how much some people traveled, how many meetings they had to go to, and how much they worked in the lab. By observing my coworkers, I was able to imagine myself in their positions and reflect how happy I would be with their jobs.
Through the work I did and the work I saw my co-workers doing, I was able to narrow down what I would like to pursue in my career. I did not enjoy the lab work. I found it very boring it did not line up to my skill set and knowledge base. I liked the work where I could use the business strategy knowledge I have gained through my business classes. I also did not enjoy the projects that were long term R&D projects. I thought it was very boring to work on a technology that even if successful will not in consumers’ hands for many years. I liked the projects that had an immediate effect on the business and its customers.
4. My experience this summer was key to my future professional goals. Before this summer, I had only interned at one company. I did not know what I would think of materials science research work. After this summer, I gained a much better understanding of what I would like in a career. This allows me to narrow down what types of jobs I want to apply for. I will be applying for jobs in an office environment working on products that are closer to the consumer. I believe with the knowledge I gained this summer I will be able to begin a career I will find more enjoyable. This will allow me to perform better and have greater success. I am very thankful I learned these things this past summer. It would have been more damaging to my career if I would have taken a full-time job and then realized I did not enjoy it.
It sounds like this experience was very valuable in helping you narrow down what you don’t want to do. Many accept positions and then find this out, so all the better that you invested a summer in this experience. Glad that STEP could be a part of this. Thank you for sharing and all the best in your future endeavors.