Industrial Engineering Internship in The US : My Internship Experience

Studying International Management and Industrial Engineering is the reason why I applied for a Sales & Marketing internship at a technical company. It allowed me to combine everything I had learned in my studies. Moreover, I am very interested in the process of developing projects and in a way the technical part is connected to the business part. In Sales, you are involved in the progress of a project that is steadily developing: from the inquiry of a client to the finished product on site. Therefore this was just the perfect industry to gain some practical experiences.

Being from Germany I realized rapidly that companies in the US are much more focused on Sales than German ones so there is no better country to go to for gaining experience in this field. The internship definitely prepared for what will be expected from me later on in my professional life.

During the internship, I was involved in the company’s day to day business. My main task was to screen drawings and other project information as well as write proposals. I was really excited about the chance to interact with real clients and to be part of real projects.

Yet, my duties included more than writing proposals and taking phone calls. Next to the day to day business I was also working on some long-term projects like creating a calculation for different solar racking systems, developing a training platform and applications for Quality Management. I am very glad that the company allowed me to take part in all kinds of meetings and conferences. I really felt like I was part of the company and not “just” an intern.

Besides the opportunity to do such an internship abroad, I was very excited and curious about the possibility to live in a city like San Francisco. Everything is bigger, the mindset of the people is very different and the flair of this city is unique. It really was an incredible experience to live there since the city and the whole Bay Area have so much to offer.

After only a few weeks, I already made some good friends and met a lot of interesting people. All of those factors really made me fall in love with the city and I already know that I will always come back.

Up to this day, I’m still in touch with the company and the friends I made in San Francisco. The company and the people there welcomed me with open arms. I’m very grateful for this experience and I’m happy to know that these friendships will last for a very long time!

To live and work over 6.500 Miles away from home isn’t always easy but it is one kind of experience. I will always be grateful for the time I spent there which will definitely benefit me in my future, not only in regards to my professional but also my personal life.