Addison Cable is a junior in mechanical engineering who interned in summer 2022 with Industrial Project Innovation (IPI), a project management company that works on projects throughout the country. Addison worked in St. Louis, Missouri, as a project management intern.
I learned so much from my internship experience. I was exposed to an entirely new career path that I otherwise would not have had the chance to explore. Project management isn’t a part of the mechanical engineering curriculum, but it was a really great experience for me. Construction is a really interesting field and you get to experience new things every day.
I learned a lot during my internship about other engineering disciplines and how to integrate them into a project. I also learned a lot about reading and interpreting drawings, especially pipe drawings.
I believe that co-ops and internships are an absolutely vital part of our education as engineers and make us much better in our roles. Both my co-op and internship have taught me so much about both engineering and myself! They were also very valuable in teaching me the aspects of each job that I liked and disliked, which in turn has helped me to decide the path I hope for my career to take. I truly believe that accepting a co-op or internship is the single most important thing you can do as an engineering student.