Second Co-op - L3 Technologies
Mike
Experience Information
Employer: L3 Technologies
Job Title: Computer Engineering Co-op
Major: Computer Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
L3 develops products for aerospace systems, security and detection systems, and pilot training. The sectors of L3 customers include military, homeland security and commercial platforms. L3 Technologies is part of one of the four sectors of L3 communications. L3 has multiple locations scattered across the country and employs approximately 38,000 employees (total across all locations).
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
The majority of this semester was spent coding on various projects. I fixed many bugs in software while also implementing new features into certain software. I did also spend time developing my own programs/features. For example, I created a feature that helped to track test cable and station usage. I also had exposure to the python language. I developed a program to help mine through a large amount of data and extract needed information. I wrote a piece of software to help troubleshoot a hardware device that was causing software programs to crash. This problem has been going on for a while, and hopefully with my software the cause can be found. The biggest project I worked on was to create a tool to help check if the relays on a relay board were functioning properly. I wrote the software to turn each specific relay on or off while also helping with the hardware design and implementation. The hardware and software were merged to create a functional and helpful device.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
During this experience I became a better programmer, while also getting exposure to different programming languages. I improved on both writing and troubleshooting code. On the hardware side, I gained experience designing and troubleshooting circuits. I became better at reading schematics, pin out sheets, and specification sheets. One project that I worked on, allowed me to see the entire engineering process from start to finish. This included creating a design, writing software, building a device, and finally integrating and testing the device. Seeing the entire process taught me how much goes into building and producing one item.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of this co-op was a device built to troubleshoot a relay board. As I mentioned above I saw the creation of this device from start to finish. It was great to see this device go from an idea to finished product while also being able to write the software for it. It was satisfying to create a device that will make other's jobs easier.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
I think it is still too early to say if my career goals were influenced by this co-op. I did realize that I enjoy writing software and then integrating it with a piece of hardware to create a finished product. I enjoy seeing both sides come together more than just strictly coding. I also continue to gain an appreciation for the aviation community/sector and the testing that goes into L3's aviation products.