Mechanical Engineering Final Co-op
Jordyn
Experience Information
Employer: Dematic Corp
Job Title: Applications Engineering Co-op
Major: Mechanical Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
Dematic is a material handling and logistics solutions company with over 5,000 employees globally. It was recently acquired by the Kion Group - a global leader in supply chain solutions. Dematic has many offices throughout the world with the North America headquarters located in Grand Rapids, MI. Dematic has a matrix organizational structure which allows different departments and different projects to come together in order to effectively get the job done.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
During my co-op experience, I was able to work with several departments in order to complete order entry tasks, order-completion drawings, and drawing modifications. I also had the opportunity to travel to an Amazon project in California for 1 week to assist in problem solving and preparation to turn a project over to the customer. All of these tasks helped further my knowledge of products within the company as well as how to use different programs in order to properly complete my job.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
With the opportunity to travel to site, I gained quick problem solving skills. I have also further improved my ability to communicate in a large company which I have learned is an important aspect of succeeding.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of this co-op experience was having the opportunity to travel to California. Not only was I able to show my ability to learn and complete the same work that the full time engineers were doing, but it was also a great way to get to know others within the company. On top of this, it was a great chance to get out of the office for a week and complete some hands-on work.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
This experience has really made me feel like I chose the right path when I decided to pursue a mechanical engineering degree. If I did have the opportunity to work for Dematic post-graduation, I would take the job in a second. I have also had opportunities to attend meetings that teach employees about possible career-growth such as project coordinator positions, etc. if that was a path that I chose to go down. Seeing opportunities such as this tempt me to further my education by possibly going for an MBA in order to gain knowledge that could help further growth within a company.