Which internship is better for career growth? (Corrosion or Quality Control)

[matchalatte02]

I'm a third year Chem Engr major. I got offered an internship at a utility company and there are 2 departments that want me (one is corrosion pipelines, and the other is materials quality management). Which field do you guys think is better for professional growth? I know CP is niche, and MQM is much broader, but it is really hard to make a decision because both sound good and I can just fit in any team! Greatly appreciate all advice!

 

[3DDave]

Yes. It is certain there are people in both areas or they would not be there to extend an offer.

Remember, when you come to a fork in the road, take it.

 

[SuperSalad]

If it were me, with the experience I have now, I'd expect you would personally get more useful experience from the MQM position at this stage. It kind of depends on where you expect/intend to land after school, but if you're looking broadly, the MQM experience is more translatable across industries.

- Andrew

 

[rb1957]

as an intern, see if you can split between the two departments.

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

 

[SWComposites]

not sure what the "corrosion pipelines" dept is. are they piping "corrosion" somewhere?

based on my aerospace industry experience, I would stay far far far away from any "quality" dept. all they seem to do is write up mindless procedures documents and then put check marks next to said document line items showing that everything is in compliance. can't think of anything more mind numbing for an engineer.

 

[matchalatte02]

prevent the pipelines from corrosion to be exact!

 

[matchalatte02]

It's also my first time using this, is there a button to reply to each comment separately? @rb1957 they don't give me an option to spread between two departments, I'd have to pick one eventually

 

[rb1957]

nah ... usually we'd say "@rb", or something like.

that's a shame ... it'd allow you to make a more informed decision and to know something more about the company and to make connections with other departments.

I guess as a Chem Eng you'd be more interested in the corrosion department, but Quality is, as you've noted, a larger field.

Good Luck, believe you made the best choice (even if you have to change your choice !?).

"Hoffen wir mal, dass alles gut geht !"
General Paulus, Nov 1942, outside Stalingrad after the launch of Operation Uranus.

 

[SWComposites]

one of your goals for the internship should be to learn as much as you can about all of the other engineering departments in the company. try to figure out which ones have jobs that interest you, and which ones have growth potential. try to talk to as many 5-10 year experience engineers as possible about their experiences and career growth.

 

[LittleInch]

Bit difficult to offer advice without knowing what the job spec says or what they've told you about what it is likely that you would be doing.

But I'm with SWC here and a materials quality depth sounds like you'll be doing all the really boring administrative work as an intern.

Corrosion pipelines might involve some admin, but think you're much more likely to be doing some field work and get exposed to more "action" than the quality one. But ask them what it entails.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[matchalatte02]

CP manager tells me ok you're going to inspect pipelines, do data analysis plus some coding, and then present it to executives at the end of the internship. On the other hand, the MQM manager doesn’t specifically say what I’ll do exactly. He tells me that he still needs to decide what project will be assigned to interns, and his team focuses on communication with other departments (which i understand because quality control deals with different departments). And the MQM also says like oh I'm going to introduce you to different engineers and different departments, so you have networking, and we’d want to help you become a well-rounded engineer.

Overall, I think I will probably go for CP to learn more technical skills and be exposed to different apparatuses. Thanks all for your insights, very much appreciated!

 

[LittleInch]

How long is this internship?

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[matchalatte02]

@LittleInch it's a summer internship, so 3 months!

 

[LittleInch]

That's a reasonable tome to be doing something useful.

The pipelines one sounds better to me, but I would say that....



Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[SWComposites]

Go with the pipelines intern job, as they have a clear idea of what they will have you do.
I have seen too many interns brought in where no one a) had a clue they were coming in, b) had any advance planning for what the intern would do. In those cases it often does not go well.

 

[GregLocock]

Yes i agree, the hands on nature of corrosion inspection is a much better job for an intern.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

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[3DDave]

A guy I worked for said he was going to get a civil engineering degree. He got an internship with a state road crew. After spending a bunch of the summer slogging through boot-topping mud and broiling in the sun, he changed to major in physics.

 

[SuperSalad]

With the feedback you've received from the two managers, I would like to change my initial advice to the corrosion pipeline position. That manager has a clear vision of what they expect from you and it sounds like you will gain better experience there.

- Andrew

 

[matchalatte02]

thank all!