OPINION & EDITORIAL
Lessons from the workplace
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by Mark Baumgardner
Wednesday, May 7, 2003
More than a year ago, I was preparing to start an electrical-engineering internship with a paper company in Green Bay. So many thoughts ran through my head. I was excited, yet very nervous at the same time.
I was preparing to move to an unfamiliar town, away from friends and others whom I relied on for support. I faced many unknowns. I had no idea what to expect of my colleagues, nor did I know what they would expect of me.
As it turns out, everything went quite well, and it was undoubtedly the best overall experience that I have had while being in college. Most of all, my internship was a learning experience. It certainly enhanced my education in electrical engineering, but more importantly, I learned many important lessons applicable to any professional setting. As many of you will start internships or permanent positions during the next several weeks, I would like to share a few of these lessons here.
1. The purpose of business is to make money.
This is one of the first things that the mill manager told me when I met with him on my first day on the job. The only reason that companies hire employees, regardless of the position, is to increase earnings, cut costs, or do both. For this reason, employers will always expect you to find ways to improve efficiency. This applies to personal productivity and to the processes in place at your corporation.
In some cases, employers may not clearly lay out the goals and objectives of the tasks they assign. I found that one of the best ways to improve personal productivity is to have a clear understanding of the expectations before beginning any task. In most cases, like the old saying goes, the only stupid question is the one that isn’t asked. In a fast-paced corporate environment, several small mistakes can be very costly and time-consuming to repair.
2. True learning occurs on the job.
The purpose of going to college is to earn a degree and to get a job after that degree is earned. For this reason, earning a degree means that one knows everything necessary to start a job, right? Wrong!
College does not teach facts and answers. Rather, it teaches concepts and methods of finding these answers. After graduating, one enters the job market with an intellectual toolbox. However, in this age of specialization and narrow training, many of these “tools” only scratch the surface of what may be required. An undergraduate degree, in many cases, teaches a small amount of knowledge about many concepts. In the job market, however, a lot of knowledge is often required about a relatively small number of concepts.
Because of this, the first few weeks of a new job can be a very humbling experience. One must be willing and able to learn quickly and accept a lot of criticism during this time. Graduating from college does not mean that the learning ends — quite the opposite.
3. Good communication is crucial.
On the last day of my internship, my mentor, the engineering supervisor, and I discussed my goals and plans for the future. My supervisor told me one thing I will never forget. He remarked that the best engineers he hired were not those with the best technical training, but rather, those that could get on the phone and make things happen.
Simply put, in any professional environment, one must be able to think and work together with those who think and work differently. My internship taught me the importance of communications courses for engineers and the importance of statistics courses for those in human resources management. A corporation must function as one team, and not as separate departments. Without well-rounded employees, communication is severely limited.
For those of you who will be entering the real world soon, I wish you all the best. For those of you have a few years of schooling left, I highly encourage internships and co-ops. Each school and college here at the university has resources to guide you in search of jobs within your career. Take full advantage of these resources. If your experience is anything like mine, you’ll be happy you did.
Mark Baumgardner (mbaumgardner@badgerherald.com) is a senior majoring in electrical engineering.
