Christine Lambert, our SWE corresponding secretary, shows us how important and exciting acquiring an internship can really be. Lambert, currently a fifth-year electrical engineering major, works as a Manufacturing Engineering Intern at ‘Johnson & Johnson Vision’ on the Controls team. She got the job by reaching out to one of her neighbors who works there to see if there were any open spots for an internship - “Networking is key!,” Lambert emphasizes. Indeed, it is.
The specifics of her job include working on the robots assigned to the manufacturing line that move the contact lenses along. In addition, Lambert has updated the logic code of the sensors that deposit saline onto the contacts.
After working there for 3 months, Lambert concludes to have had a very positive internship experience at Johnson & Johnson Vision. One of the things she encourages others to do is to go ahead and reach out to your co-workers and ask if you can shadow them to learn something new. You reap the most benefits once you start networking and working to gain more experience and knowledge-even when it might not apply to your current interests. Some advice Lambert would like to part to those reading is to not be afraid if you feel like you don’t know much about what you’re doing. She expresses, “You were hired for a reason and they don't expect you to know everything. Just take the skills you know and use it to the best of your abilities in your role. The rest will be taught to you. If you still need help, don't be afraid to ask!”