• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Ingenium Blog

College of Engineering Twitter hashtag #NewZachry Instagram hashtag #NewZachry College of Engineering Facebook
Texas A&M College of Engineering

Ingenium

  • Blog
    • Internship experience
    • Academic activities
    • Study Abroad experience
    • Entrepreneurial activities
    • Future Students
    • Graduate Students
    • Student life
  • About
  • Video
  • Contact

The Co-op Connection: 4 tips to thrive in manufacturing

This fall, I was fortunate enough to participate in an operations engineer co-op at PCC Structurals, Inc. From my experience, here are four tips for students going into future manufacturing roles.

You are here: Home / Internship experience / The Co-op Connection: 4 tips to thrive in manufacturing

September 7, 2022 By: Austin Kees

Looking for a co-op?

Find your next co-op, internship or job by attending the S.E.C career fair, the largest student run career fair in the nation!

S.E.C Career Fair
Selfie of student, Austin Kees, at his manufacturing job

This fall, I was fortunate enough to participate in an operations engineer co-op at PCC Structurals, Inc. Nearly every aircraft in the Western world—with few exceptions—contains parts we make. I take pride in the piece I contributed to that. From my experience, here are four tips for students going into future manufacturing roles.

1. Build strong relationships, especially with operators

Many strive to impress their bosses yet underestimate the power of winning over the operators on the plant floor. Take the time to listen to operators, earn their trust and show genuine care for them instead of just hitting efficiency targets or meeting a deadline. Operators know how to make the best improvements since they do the jobs daily, and getting their input will make projects much more successful rather than only looking at a project through an engineer’s lens. You may be pursuing a college degree, but they still know more than you here. Don’t forget that!

2. Explore

You are not at school anymore, so stop sitting behind a desk! That is not to say that desk work can’t be interesting, but don’t underestimate the opportunities present in a manufacturing environment. My experience at PCC was great because there are many fascinating operations used to cast aerospace parts. There are wax injection molders, 3D printers, foundry vacuum units, X-ray vaults and CNC (computer numerical control)/machining areas. Plunge into the opportunities at hand. Get some relevant projects in those areas and explore the manufacturing process.

3. Get your hands dirty

Don’t be afraid to do a dirty job. Sometimes you will be assigned a task that you don’t want to do. Do it anyway. Do it cheerfully. During my time with PCC, a pipe burst in the plant and the maintenance crew was looking for help. I was one of the few who volunteered. I looked quite out of place standing in a puddle of green water in my nice business attire, but I also gained the respect of many people that day.

We are called fightin’ Texas Aggies for a reason; get down and dirty to do the job right. Whoop!

4. Own your mistakes

Everyone fails, and you will too as a student employee. I miscalculated when preparing data for a weekly presentation that my supervisor presented to the plant’s management team. Since I was the only one who prepared the data, I could have let my error slide under the radar; however, I was transparent anyway. I felt really stupid, but my supervisor handled the situation well. This embarrassing situation became one of my most memorable lessons: your value as an employee is not measured only by your successes or failures. 

My co-op experience has been valuable, and I have learned so much about being an engineer in practice. Despite temptations to fall into a monotonous rhythm at work, there is always something new to learn. Never stop learning. That is truly the greatest tip I can give.

Austin Kees

About Austin Kees

Industrial Engineering, Class of 2023

I’m from Austin, Texas, and I’m a proud former member of the Corps of Cadets. With the goal of being a jack of all trades, my interests outside engineering include emergency medicine, Spanish, leadership psychology, HTML, weightlifting, and study abroad.

If you found this blog post interesting, you may consider reading “The Co-op Connection: Landing the job” and “You Graduated Without a Job Offer.. Now What?.”

Topics: Internship experience, Student life

Primary Sidebar

Related Posts

  • Ingenium guestblogger Joel Lopez posing in front of pyramid on Yucatan peninsula in Mexico IRAP: Two weeks in Yucatán that changed my life | March 1, 2023
  • four Texas A&M University students studying in the Zachry Engineering Education Complex Dear Aggie Engineer… | February 15, 2023
  • Scenic view of a pond at sunset Find your place in Aggieland | February 8, 2023

Learn More

Texas A&M Engineering SoundBytes podcast logo next to a broadcast microphone image

Have you heard?

Texas A&M Engineering: SoundBytes is the podcast where faculty, students and staff across the engineering program can share their passion, experience and expertise.

Listen now

College of Engineering Twitter College of Engineering Instagram College of Engineering Facebook

Footer

Ingenium, written by students for students, a blog of the Texas A&M University College of Engineering

Learn More

College of Engineering

Texas A&M University

Engineering Resources

Options for Study

Student Life

Admissions & Aid

Study Abroad

Texas A&M College of Engineering

Copyright © 2023 · Texas A&M University College of Engineering · All Rights Reserved

The views and opinions expressed in this blog are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Texas A&M University.

State of Texas • Texas Homeland Security • Open Records • Risk, Fraud & Misconduct Hotline • Statewide Search • Texas CREWS • Site Links & Policies • Environmental Health, Safety & Security • Employment