Center for Career Development Tennessee Technological University

We have another AWESOME Co-op Spotlight! Meet Justin! Justin is an Electrical Engineering major who works at DENSO Manufacturing in Athens, Tennessee! His duties include various Zonal ECU projects within the 701 plants, such as preparing and assisting with install for their machinery electronics inside the machine room area. He has also assisted with machine specifications, presentations, and machine training. So far, he has had daily meetings pertaining to shipment installments, ongoing construction, and material item purchases for their cleanroom. When asked what Justin has learned thus far, he says, “I have learned a lot of technical and soft skills so far during my Co-op. When it comes to technical skills, I am continuously learning how to utilize and create AutoCAD layouts and 3D SOLIDWORK objects. Additionally, I have made a couple of PowerPoint slides and Excel spreadsheets regarding DMAT's ECU Production for Auto and Manual lines currently being installed.” Justin has also grown his soft skills like communication and teamwork. Justin shared that he feels his technical and soft skills have been most important in his experience outside of the classroom. “I feel obtaining experience outside of the classroom is being able to learn and grow from multiple engineers who have decades of experience under their belt. The work pace is quicker and you’re applying concepts you learned in school to produce real life results (products). So far, I have used some of my career readiness skills, such as critical-thinking and problem-solving, in ways I have never thought deeply about.”  Justin’s advice to fellow students interested in a Co-op position is, “I would tell the student that it really allowed me to challenge myself beyond the college experience like never before. They will always give you help and advice if you need assistance, but you must communicate with your associates. A great thing to add is that you will receive lots of industry training, so do not stress yourself.” Thank you for sharing your AMAZING experiences with us, Justin! 💜 🦅 💛 Center for Career Development Tennessee Technological University College of Engineering at Tennessee Technological University #WeAreTNTech #TNTechCareerDevelopment #TNTechCoOp #TNTech #Engineering #CooperativeEducation #ExperientialEducation

Every October, we celebrate Cooperative Education and our students who are actively on assignments. We hope you will join us weekly as we highlight some of these awesome students and their amazing employers! We'd like to introduce you to our FIRST Co-op Spotlight, Rohith! Rohith is a Mechanical Engineering Co-op with the Transportation Engineering team at Powerex! His team is responsible for all the models used in transportation applications. Currently, he has been involved in a lot of tasks, such as standardization of older belt-drive models PLUS helping the flow of their production line by improving tolerances and design in both 3D models and 2D drawings, designing the parts from the ground up! When asked what he felt he had learned in his co-op so far, he stated, “Even though I've only been at my co-op for a few months, I feel as if I have been here for a year from how much I have been exposed to. I am a part of Powerex Geometric Dimensioning and Tolerancing training, an additional tolerancing system that is becoming more and more common in the industry when designing precise and accurate parts, and I have been getting plenty of practice and training in Solid Edge, a 3D modeling software similar to SolidWorks. This co-op has drastically improved my soft skills! Rohith was excited for this co-op opportunity. He shared, “I believe taking a break from school to do a co-op was worth it for that sole reason. Especially as a mechanical engineer, getting this kind of experience really helps you gain a better understanding of what you want out of a career. “ He had the following tips for anyone considering a co-op: “The first month is always going to be a difficult time to adjust because of your changing schedule, workloads, trainings, and just feeling like you don't know anything. Something to make this time a little easier is to ask questions! Ask questions about anything and everything with the co-workers sitting around you, people from other teams, and managers.” One last insight from Rohith, "Not everything is serious all the time! We have impromptu and planned team lunches, along with many other FUN activities!” Thank you for sharing your AWESOME experiences, Rohith! #WeAreTNTech #TNTechCareerReady #TNTech #TNTechCoOp #Engineering #MechanicalEngineering

Congratulations to Haren Construction Company, Inc. and Holly Rambo for winning the Tennessee Tech Recruiter of the Year Award for 2023! We cannot thank you enough for what you do for TN Tech students. We appreciate you and look forward to working with you this upcoming year as well. Wings up!

It is always exciting to see the work our office does highlighted by the university! This article shares how our students at Tennessee Tech benefit by the services provided to them from the Center for Career Development staff. Check out how we play a role in Golden Eagles from freshmen year to graduation and beyond - giving them that competive edge! #WeAreTNTech #TNTechCareerDevelopment #TNTechCareers https://lnkd.in/eg_J2m-G

It is always exciting to see the work our office does highlighted by the university! This article shares how our students at Tennessee Tech benefit by the services provided to them from the Center for Career Development staff. Check out how we play a role in Golden Eagles from freshmen year to graduation and beyond - giving them that competive edge! #WeAreTNTech #TNTechCareerDevelopment #TNTechCareers https://lnkd.in/eg_J2m-G

Happy Friday Golden Eagles! It's time to share our last Co-op Spotlight of the semester! Today is Business Administration Master's student, Julian Burkhardt! He has spent the last two semesters as a Business Development Specialist at Hormann Group North America. When asked about his Co-op, he said, "This semester I will continue implementing a new fleet management system across the East of Hörmann North America. In addition, I am to create several forms that will help processes like budgeting, equipment requests, and controlling. Furthermore, I will be involved in starting a green initiative at Hormann because all European subsidiaries need to report green initiative numbers and metrics by next year. Also, I will heavily be involved in the development of several IT platforms." Julian says he has learned a lot in terms of navigating different ERP systems, as well as several sales performance platforms. He shared that his skills in research, utilizing financial reports, accounting, and decision-making have developed most. His advice to anyone considering a Co-op is, "It is extremely beneficial because you get first-hand insights from experienced professionals. Also, you get to apply theories or systems you learned in classes." Way to go, Julian! #TNTech #TNTechCareerDevelopment #TNTechCareerReady #WeAreTNTech

It's time for another Co-op Spotlight! Today's Spotlight is on Mechanical Engineering major, Connor Smith! He has spent the last three semesters on a Gas Co-op at Jackson Energy Authority! His main job includes designing kills & installations of gas pipes within the city of Jackson, Tennessee. Connor says this requires a level of professionalism and attention to detail when working with both his direct boss and the others who all have a hand in the projects he works on. He shared he has learned attention to detail and dedication to his work until it's considered presentable to even the highest management at JEA. The skills he has picked up in AutoCAD have made him a more efficient designer of engineering blueprints, and can transfer to other jobs that require AutoCAD, as well. Connor says he has also learned more generic skills that would transfer over to any office job, such as intercommunication with coworkers, cleanliness and order of his workspace, and accountability and focus on the work he currently does. When asked why he thinks Co-ops are important, he said, "This job has taught me things I can say for certain I never learned in a classroom. While doing so, it also gave me the chance to be out in the real world and to pretend at being an independent adult, which is valuable in its own way by preparing students for what being on your own can be like. The things I've learned at this job are no doubt skills that I will use at the majority of other engineering jobs I would ever consider, and for the rest of my working life." Way to go Connor! #TNTech #TNTechCareerDevelopment #TNTechCareerReady #WeAreTNTech

Time to highlight another one of our talented Co-op Students! Meet Andrew! #WeAreTNTech

Next up for our Co-op Spotlight is Mechanical Engineering major, Andrew Barnette! Andrew has spent this semester at Precision Coils on a Manufacturing Engineer Co-op. His main jobs are project based, and they involve tasks such as daily checks on the turret machines, safety checks, working on an expansion plan for the plant, redesigning the shipping crates, and observing anything that could help streamline production. Andrew says he has learned how to manufacture HVAC coils and how to service milling and turret punch machines. He shared, "the most important thing about gaining experience is that it will be reflected on his resume and help him to find a job." His advice to anyone who gets a Co-op opportunity is to do it! Thank you for sharing Andrew! #TNTech #TNTechCareerDevelopment #TNTechCareerReady #WeAreTNTech