VEGA Americas, Inc.

Engineering Co-op

January - May 2023 • Mason, OH

What I liked

The people were very dedicated to giving me a great learning experience. They took time out of their days to make sure I understood what was asked of me and that I was getting something out of what I was doing. I got to design several things including an aluminum base for the engineering lab water tank dolly and a test fixture that will be used to test the output of one of VEGA's sensors. Along with that I got to do some hands on stuff including building the dolly base myself, measuring and redocumenting 30+ assembly fixtures, and 3D printing the output fixture to be tested before an aluminum model was built. Every project I did was fun as I was given enough material to understand what I needed to do but was still left to figure out and learn a lot of stuff on my own, it was a great balance. Coming back for a second term (August 2023 – December 2023) I was given a lot more responsibilities and a lot faster too. I did not have to go through the basic training I had to the first term and got straight into working on day one. While during the first term I really only had one project going at a time, this term I was given more responsibility and sometimes had several projects going on at once. I found this to be a nice change of pace as it provided more variety to what I was doing week to week. Some of the things I got to work on this time around included developing an alternative, ecofriendly packaging for one of their products, finding the rotational velocity of a pneumatic actuator for a certification, and developing an adapter for VEGA's salesmen to use when presenting one of their pressure sensors to customers. I had a lot more hands on opportunities this term including portions of each of the aforementioned projects. I had such opportunities because they took the feedback I gave at the end of last term and built off of it. They truly cared about my development and took the time to make sure I got more out of this term than what I had already got out of my first term.

What I wish was different

I wish I could of done some more hands on projects. The opportunities to do so were there, but the timing of those projects being started did not line up with the timing of me finishing each of the projects I was given. I also wish I could of worked with more people. Most of my time was spent sitting at my desk not getting to talk or work with many other people. Most of the time I did get to work with other people it was only the few people on my team, because of this I always looked forward to lunch where I got to sit and talk with more people in the Engineering department. There is not much I could wish was different during my second term, I got to do a ton more stuff at the company and when I got stuck on one project I was given more along with it so I was never doing the same thing for too long. If there had to be one thing I guess I would say I wish I got to work with other departments more. On a couple of the projects I got to work with some people outside the engineering department which I found to be really good experience. Working with people I was not familiar with put me outside my comfort zone and forced me to grow my professional communicating skills.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions. The people you work with do not expect you to know everything as they know the co-op term is one of your first, if not your first, experience working as an engineer. When I asked if I asked to many questions I was told that it is good to ask questions to make sure you are doing things correctly, compared to not asking anything and doing things wrong. Asking a lot of questions also gives you more opportunities to learn more stuff and can make the experience a lot more meaningful. Adventure outside your comfort zone. When you have free time do not just sit at your desk, go out to the lab and ask people about what they are doing. For example, the last couple of weeks I would walk out to the lab near the end of each day to make sure my projects were tidy and not in the way of other people’s projects. While out there I would always learn something from the laboratory technician. I learned a lot about different tools and how to properly use them. A lot of people at VEGA love to tell you about what they are doing, so go out of your way and ask. Along with that listen to their feedback and stories. Everyone has different experiences they can tell you about that you can learn from, they also have different methods of doing things. As an intern/co-op you have the opportunity of shaping who you are as an engineer so take everything you can get.

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Mechanical Engineering Intern

May - August 2023 • Mason, OH

What I liked

The people that worked at VEGA were dedicated to helping me even if I was just an Intern. They treated me like an other employee and would take time out of there day to help me understand the project. My favorite part about working at VEGA was the different projects I got to work on. I was able to make a demo stand that would measure someone's height when standing under a VEGA sensor. I also did a lot of transfer work which allowed me to advance my modeling skills. I used the 3d printers to solve common manufacturing issues. The people working in the engineering group is a close group of people and they welcomed me with open arms and really got to know the group. I also was always doing work. Luckily I had no down time and enjoyed coming into work. The brand new facility has a lot of amenities that were nice.

What I wish was different

The first project that I worked on was a hands on project which I worked on for about a week before it was finished. A lot of the time I was sitting at my desk doing transfer work which I didn't mind but I wish there was a little bit of variety in the projects. The first week being at VEGA I sat at my desk for 8 hours and didn't do any work because they didn't have any of my information set up like email, login, training. I wish they had that stuff ready so I could have started working right away.

Advice

Don't be afraid to ask questions. The people working with you do not expect you to know everything. But make sure you are asking valid questions. Spend sometime on your own trying to solve the issue. Once you have spent time and cant figure it out then ask the question. maybe ask a question that can help solve other issues you are having. Be open to being wrong. I was able to learn a lot from my mistakes and I think that it really helped improve my work.

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