GE Aviation Unison Industries

EID Intern

January - May 2022 • Beavercreek, OH

What I liked

During my rotation, some of the things I liked the most were my co-workers, my responsibilities, and the location. Because I worked at a manufacturing site as an EHS intern, I met all sorts of different people, from salaried office workers to operators on the floor. This mixture of people provided me with the opportunity to develop my communication skills. I liked the responsibilities I was assigned because there was a variety of projects to work on and each one focused on a different part of the role. I liked the location because I was able to complete my rotation while still living on campus. It was convenient to be able to co-op during the year, yet not have to miss being involved in student orgs. Edit Aug. 4, 2023: 2nd rotation at GE in Lynn, MA: During this second rotation, I worked in the New Product Integration (NPI) department with a focus on inventory and standard work. I mainly processed through retired hardware to see what was salvageable for other development and production programs within the company, as well as streamlining the day to day tasks of the team using standard work. I enjoyed seeing a different side of the business that involved a variety of different skills, especially tactical planning and execution. I also really enjoyed the bigger size of the location because I was able to network with other intern much more than at my previous site.

What I wish was different

Although I ended up liking my position in EHS, I wish I would have had more of an engineering role because I felt like I did not use my MEE degree at all. It would have been a lot more interesting to be using what I had learned in classes the past two years and see it applied in the workplace. I also wish I got to work closer with other interns. There were a few other interns at my site, but I did not get to work with them, which I feel would have been a great learning experience. Even though I did not get to work with other interns, I had the opportunity to be a part of the company's Professional Development Committee for all interns, which provided some of the peer collaboration I was looking for. Edit Aug. 4, 2023: 2nd rotation at GE in Lynn, MA: One of the main things I did not enjoy about this experience was the span of the internship. It was very difficult to learn the systems used in my department in the short amount of time I was given. I also felt that the culture at this particular site was not as warm as my previous experience. Granted, it is a union site, which does change things, but overall I did not gel with the attitude as well. Also, I struggled because half my team was remote, and so it was difficult at times to connect with the team.

Advice

I would advise other students to be open to ANY opportunity that comes there way during the co-op process. I talked to GE at the Fall 21 career fair not expecting to get a job yet but was offered one, and so I ended up working here in the spring. Even though it is in EHS and not engineering, I have learned so much and gained valuable experience. GE Aviation does a fantastic job of providing interns with opportunities to network and learn about all areas of the company, so I would definitely recommend other students to work there. I especially liked how GE encouraged interns to talk with people across the company with meetings called "Get-to-Knows". These were helpful for me to hear about other jobs and fields. Edit Aug. 4, 2023: 2nd rotation at GE in Lynn, MA: I would advise a future intern to make the best of any situation you are placed in. I loved my location (Boston) and the other interns I met, but did not love the work I was doing. This can be discouraging at times, but just try to have a positive attitude when you can. Remember that knowing what you do not want to do is just as valuable as knowing what you do want to do. Internships are such valuable opportunities because you get to walk away from the role after a few months, regardless of how much you like (or dislike) it, so make sure to explore!

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GE Aviation Supply Chain Co-op

September - December 2022 • Dayton, OH

What I liked

Similar to UD the GE Aviation Culture is something that is very special. It is very clear that even as an intern GE values you and supports the learning process. It is made sure you have a support network and GE provides many opportunities for personal growth. You feel empowered to show up to work your best every day and work on a team that is making a difference.

What I wish was different

Working at a non hub site in Dayton the onboarding process was too be desired. On top of this due to unfortunate circumstances I did not get assigned a proper project until the midway point in my rotation. Both of these are understandable and are not guaranteed to happen to everyone. Both of them ended being unexpected opportunities. Because of my poor onboarding experience I volunteered to be on a committee to better the onboarding process for future interns. With the lack of a project I had more freedom to explore other sides of the company that I might not have gotten to otherwise.

Advice

My advice to any oncoming GE Aviation intern is to be bold and get your name out there. GE Aviation is a great place to network even if you don't plan on making a career out of your co-op. Set up meeting with people in areas that interest you to talk about their career. Everyone is very understanding of what it is like to be an intern. The worst thing that will happen is they respectfully decline.

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Operations Co op

January - May 2022 • Beavercreek Township, OH

What I liked

One thing I really liked about the DCC shop was how friendly everyone was. Both the staff and the operators took time to explain what they do and how it is important to the business. This really helped me acclimate into a new environment and made me feel comfortable asking questions. I also really liked being at a production plant because it opened the door to many hands on projects. If you like being where the work is done, I would recommend trying to work at a plant or a shop. There were also so many great opportunities for tours of other locations that were very fun and interesting!

What I wish was different

One thing that I wish was a little bit different would be the way projects were communicated to me. Personally, I am the kind of person who likes being told exactly what to do. During my rotation, there were some times when I was not sure what to be working on or doing. This prompted me to initiate conversations about projects with my supervisor. In a way this was probably helpful to me since being able to have those conversations with your supervisor is a good skill, but I wish I would have known that going into my rotation.

Advice

One piece of advice that I would give to someone going into this experience would be to go into it ready to take on a lot of projects. Being at a shop, there is always something to do and you need to take the initiative to ask for those projects and be ready to complete them. In addition to that, there are always things to do and people will ask you to do them, so you also need to be ready to help out others in the shop even if they are not your supervisor. This helps build relations with the staff and operators and overall creates a better experience. Another piece of advice I would give would be to plan out your finances before the rotation starts. If this is your first co-op, having a plan on how you are going to organize your income for various expenses is important.

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Manufacturing Engineering Co-op

January - May 2022 • Beavercreek, OH

What I liked

One of the things that I liked the most about my role at GE Aviation was getting to work with 3D printing technologies that create the cores of high pressure turbine airfoils. My role allowed me to get a taste of life both in an office and as a steel toed engineer, exposing me to standard work processes and giving me the freedom to own trials and experiments ideated by the engineering team and I. One of the other things I really appreciated was their ability to listen to my concerns and opinions regarding difficult or high profile topics and acting on that advice. Another aspect of being a co-op at GE Aviation that I loved was our ability to tour numerous buildings and sites around the company, frequenting Evandale and West Chester and even Peebles. These site tours allowed me to grasp the scope of the GE business while also giving me the opportunity to explore the career paths available within the company.

What I wish was different

Something that I wish could have been a little different was the co-op onboarding experience. I felt that it took me a significant amount of time to figure out what it was that I needed to be doing or to get access to the right sites and sources to complete what was asked of me. This is something that I communicated with my team and consistently pursued when the issues came up, but having a tabulated list of all sites needed to be accessed by a co-op would have been helpful. To resolve this need, I have taken it upon myself to generate said list to leave for the next set of co-ops, something I hope lives past my time and helps numerous others. Otherwise, I felt that my time at GE was extremely beneficial in helping me hone in on the engineering field that I wish to pursue, which is the whole point of these experiences!

Advice

One piece of advice I would give regarding my experience would be to never stop asking questions. One of the things that I found was super helpful when I couldn't access data or files was to just keep asking questions about what to do next, how I could pursue the project from a new angle for the time being, and so on. Additionally, this allowed me to ask questions when I was stuck on a problem - being in a new shop environment, I was unaware of how certain processes worked, so asking people I had met on the shop floor was extremely helpful. Lastly, I was to expand on talking with the operators - never assume you know more than anyone. The moment you assume you know better than an operator, you begin to lose them with an idea you may have, or you may simply lose sight of what is actually helpful. Essentially, never seek to consider yourself smarter or better than anyone you work with, but rather always learn and grow from your experiences and the experiences of those you work with.

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Environmental Health and Safety

May - August 2019 • London, England

What I liked

I liked being able to work in a stressful environment in a new culture. It was fun to learn different terminologies and mannerisms people had in London.

What I wish was different

I wish my manager gave me more of a direction. One project was beyond my scope and I needed more advice as to how to start it, however my manager left it up to me to figure it out. In the end, the project was not finished and my manager had a lot of constructive criticism as to how I should have gone about the project.

Advice

Ask questions! I was too nervous to ask question since I had worked at this company before and I thought I people around me had high expectations of me, but in the end I needed to learn as much as possible and the only way I was able to do that was by asking questions even when I thought they were silly.

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