I am one of those lucky students who got summer engineering internships since high school because of the opportunities that had arisen. It has nothing to do with being smart. I was just at the right place at the right time, studying in my school’s STEM program, following my passions. It just so happened that a local STEM program started a summer internship program for high school students, where they partnered students with different STEM companies based on their interests and prior experiences.

I worked with a range of companies: a couple small local product design firms, a large construction firm in Hawaii and on the West Coast of the US, the astronomy department of a tech school and a large digital and industrial company with locations all over the world.

Every company is different and every internship was different. In the smaller companies, I was given more freedom in terms of what I wanted to do. I was able to create my own designs, which meant a lot of responsibility was given to me. I was given my own canvas, my mind being the paintbrushes. The only problem was that there was less structure and organization, but it didn’t matter as much because those small firms had a few people.

In the larger companies, there is a lot of structure and rules upon rules. For example, if you run into someone from a competing company and chat for a few minutes, you would have to report the situation, otherwise you risk running into some legal trouble. They take things like this very seriously. The projects I was given mostly involved creating tools that assisted the company with their engineering work. I wasn’t given a chance to create my own designs, but I knew my project work would benefit the company in the long run. What I find appealing about large companies is that it’s easier to change to a different position or move to a different office, there are a ton of people to meet and the opportunities are endless. There are many leadership development programs for students and for employees. Taking advantage of these opportunities can really help advance you and your career.

Any internship, whether it’s working for a big or small company, is good job experience. There are pros and cons to any internship and company. It’s just up to you to determine which fits you best. Overall, I learned what I don’t want to do, what I don’t mind doing and what I would do. What I really want to do? I’m still figuring that out.