Hardware Engineering Intern
Department: Manufacturing and R&D
My experience
Overview
Conducted both in house and field testing with particular medical device in order to determine efficacy of device. Used user feedback to implement hardware and software changes, then worked to develop program for next iteration of testing
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Pros
The entire experience was very hands on. I got to learn various technical engineering skills such as soldering, building Ethernet cables, assembling robotic hands and building components for our medical device. Additionally, I got to help construct an at home pegboard device and deploy it to users for field testing. I got to work with users to determine any flaws in the device and software and then use this feedback to make both hardware and software changes.
Cons
To begin, I was terminated from this position 2 weeks before the end of the internship. I was fired on the spot along with two other interns with no prior warning or indication. The reasons I was given was “not taking enough initiative and my attitude being detrimental to the company culture”. As an intern, I was thrown into an R&D project with no team, very little guidance, and high expectations and told to either sink or swim. My project was faced with numerous hiccups, mainly due to poor communication from the software lead who often stated he was too busy to deal with menial projects such as this. Rather being properly mentored and guided, I was frequently berated and lectured by the CEO in a condescending manner about how I am causing these delays and how I should’ve made decisions differently, despite not receiving any guidance on how to make these decisions in the first place. The CEO often picked on female interns to have these arguments with and got off on berating and belittling female employees. For this reason, there were no full time female employees present in the office. I believe that a big reason for why I was fired was due to the fact that I would often disagree with the CEO, specifically with matters that he was uninformed about. The internship was divided between R&D and manufacturing. Manufacturing involved the 20 hardware interns crammed into a small room building consoles that would be shipped out to users. We received little to no proper training on how to assemble these consoles, and we also received no safety training, leading to many injuries throughout the summer. We were never given any feedback on how to increase our productivity, until after me and the other two interns were fired and the company had an all hands meeting where they pulled up all of the interns’ productivity stats and compared individuals to one another in order to communicate that manufacturing productivity has to increase, two weeks before the end of the internship. Overall, this place is incredibly toxic and the lessons you learn while working here does not justify how traumatized you might be at the end of it.
Impact of work
Time spent working
Interview advice
How did you find the job / apply?
Interview Rounds
Interview type
Interview questions
Asked me about past projects at school, and then asked me a riddle for the next interview
Advice on how to prepare
Don’t apply. I had been warned prior to this internship but I had no other option. I wish I heeded that warning
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