STRATA, Inc.

Field Professional

May 2018 • Boise, ID

What I liked

I really enjoyed the people I worked with as well as my supervisors. The culture at STRATA is unlike any other place I have worked in the past and there is a real sense of community between employees. I also enjoyed the different types of work that the company does. I was able to assist and later on work under engineers in the field and see the real-world concepts in action and perform testing/data collection for engineering requirements. I also worked on the construction side providing quality control and quality assurance and dealing with outside frim specifications. This gave me a good sense of what works on paper and what actually happens in the field. There was always work to be done and I worked as many hours as I wanted; I was never under 35 hours at any time during the summer.

What I wish was different

One thing that I was had been different was the scheduling. Every once in a while there would be conflicting jobs where I would be scheduled to work both at the same time. This issue has since been mitigated as communication at the upper levels improved.

Advice

One piece of advice I would share is to always take the extra work. Always try to get as much face time in as possible with contractors, ITD officials, and the in house supervisors. Make sure that they know that you want to be there and are willing to put in the extra work as that is what gets you moved up in the ranks and invited back the following year.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Field Professional

April 2019 • Pocatello, ID

What I liked

I got to work a lot in the lab and perform a lot of the tests. I also got to help the Lab Supervisor control all the tests that were going on in the lab. I really enjoyed running the Permeability tests to.

What I wish was different

I wish it could have been closer to my house so it wasn't a 45 minute drive to and from work everyday but other than that I really enjoyed my internship.

Advice

One piece of advice I would give would be to jump in and get your hands dirty. Don't be scared to get dirty. It is a very hands on job so you need to be a hard worker to. The other thing is you will work at least 50-60 hours a week so be prepared for that.

Be the first to mark this as helpful

Materials Testing Technician

March - September 2018 • Idaho Falls, ID

What I liked

I was very impressed with the pay rate I was offered. I also enjoyed getting to use knowledge learned in the classroom in real world applications.

What I wish was different

I wish the work environment hadn't been so toxic.

Advice

Trust your instincts about a company when you first meet them. You may be looking for a job, but the company is looking for an employee just as much, in most cases. Both parties are happiest when it's a good fit for both people. If you feel that your initial interaction is a little cold, then you have to weigh that against other factors such as pay rate. Do you want to get paid a lot and dread the work environment?

1 One person found this helpful

Field Professional

February 2018 • Boise, ID

What I liked

I got to see the construction side of the industry I am entering into. As an engineer in training, I got to read the plans given by engineers, and assist and verify that contractors meet specified standards. This gave me a new perspective and respect for how plans and building methods should be managed and written for a smoother overall project. I got to work one on one with contractors, run laboratory tests, and conduct field testing by myself once I got various certifications. These certifications were paid for by the company and valid in multiple states for materials testing for the next five years. Outside of the normal day to day work, there were opportunities to go out with engineers and shadow them as they performed various day to day activities. There was also opportunity to work outside of Boise, including Spokane/Couer d'Alene, Twin Falls, Casper, WY, and Williston, ND.

What I wish was different

One thing that I wish could've been different is to have more variety in what I worked on. I spent a lot of time working on the same types of projects and am now very knowledgeable in this area and fully capable of working similar projects like this by myself with minimal support, however, there are many more aspects of the geotechnical engineering field I feel that I only got minimal exposure to.

Advice

One piece of advice about this internship is expect to work hard. It was 100% worth it and I will most likely be working for them in the future, but it was not easy getting started.

Be the first to mark this as helpful