Building Software at Meijer
Jacob
Experience Information
Employer: Meijer, Inc.
Job Title: Applications Developer
Major: Information Systems
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Meijer is a leading Supercenter located in five states throughout the Midwest, with nearly 200 stores and almost 60,000 employees. As a multi-billion dollar retailer, Meijer is ranked as the 15th largest privately held company in the country. We have become a respected leader in the competitive retail market by sticking to our core values of customers, competition, family, freshness, and safety & health. Meijer's Midwest geography includes corporate offices in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and stores, distribution centers, and manufacturing facilities throughout Michigan, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio, and Kentucky.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
While at Meijer, I developed a web application for the Business Intelligence team. The application incorporated C#, HTML / CSS, JavaScript and JQuery, and DB2 Z/OS. What does that mean? It means I've learned a lot of new skills during my time at Meijer. My project was, in short, a web application that allowed specific users to update, delete, and insert records into existing databases.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
It was very exciting to take what I learned in the classroom, such as the Systems Development Life Cycle, and Relational Databases, and apply it in my job. What's great about working as an Applications Development Intern at Meijer is that every single one of my classes (excluding GenEd's) was applicable to my work. Marketing, Finance, and Management classes helped me gain a thorough understanding of the Business processes the Business Intelligence team followed. As a result, it was much easier for me to understand the system requirements and what they expected my application to do. Naturally, my CS / IS classes helped with the creation of my project tremendously, but there's only so much the classroom can teach you. During my time at Meijer, I've learned that the most valuable asset to any software developer is the ability to learn and understand. Technology changes too rapidly to know a few select languages: you must be willing to continuously take on new challenges and experiences.
Favorite Part of the Experience
The trips! During my internship experience, we toured a Distribution Facility in Lansing, a Pilot store that featured new products, and Grid70, a fresh, vibrant office in Downtown GR where chefs cook up all of Meijer's foods. There were also evening activities including a Whitecaps game and Intern Olympics. Both provided great networking opportunities with your fellow interns, both at Meijer and other West Michigan companies.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
As a direct result of this internship, I am seeking a position that allows me to be a software developer. I received a taste of building great software, and I absolutely love it. I would also enjoy working for Meijer. They're privately owned and, despite their small size, can compete with international industries such as Wal-Mart and Target. Working as an intern at Meijer is a great experience. I would highly recommend it to any prospective intern.