Engineering Co-op 1: TMG
Tyler
Experience Information
Employer: Nissan Technical Center North America
Job Title: Test Management Group Co-op Student
Major: Product Design and Manufacturing Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Nissan is a global auto-manufacturer. As of today, July, 31st 2017, it is the largest automaker in the world in terms of global sales. https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/cars/2017/07/28/nissan-renault-seize-lead-first-half-global-vehicle-sales/519414001/
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
I managed the testing of the 18 model year Nissan Frontier truck. This included monitoring test results from applicable groups, ensuring events were completed according to schedule, writing and releasing weekly reports to directors, sr. managers, and other applicable personnel, and in the case that a failure occurred, I would be responsible for tracking countermeasure development. I was also assigned several additional projects which included tracking late orders from suppliers and presenting weekly status reports, building a vehicle quantity benchmarking database and developing vehicle quantity prediction formulas for future projects, revising/condensing/clarifying confidential vehicle camouflage guidelines, along with small tasks to assist my team when they were overloaded.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
I learned new software - Microsoft Project and Access, and significantly improved my skills with Excel. Prior to this summer, I didn't even know about Excels macro functionalities, but through my projects I learned how to write VBA code to automate simple (and some moderately complex) tasks. Macros allowed me to create weekly reports in ten minutes rather than 2 hours. I would also say I gained some basic project management skills. The frontier project went very smoothly, so I didn't have to step in and make changes to the schedule or manage countermeasures, but my team helped me learn about the processes in place to help me do both of those things. Aside from that, general company culture/professionalism guidelines: always visually summarize your information if possible, especially if there's a language barrier, always assume the other person knows more than you do, don't hog time in a meeting, respond to emails the same day, etc.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part about my co-op was the people. My team, my superiors, the other interns, the HR staff, and the technicians/test teams and everyone I met was willing to help me in whatever capacity they could. My team helped me coordinate with test groups to witness several vehicle tests, including a crash test. HR sponsored several events to help interns get to know each other. We went to a ropes course, an escape room, and they even flew all the interns in the U.S. to Tennessee to network and present ideas to executives. The Interns at Nissan also get great perks! 10/10 would recommend.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
Prior to this summer, I wouldn't necessarily say I had any career goals aside from simply having a dependable career. After this semester I think my professional goal is to consistently go outside of my comfort zone because that's how I gained 90% of my experience this summer.