Externship Story

Here at Smalley, students have the opportunity to work on real-world challenges that impact and shape the future.

But don’t just take our word for it, meet our externs- Braden and Kyle.

Braden and Kyle (left) with Brian (Product Design Engineer) and Francisco (Product Application Engineer).

Braden and Kyle are freshman mechanical engineering students from Northern Illinois University (NIU). Our week-long externship gave them a chance to explore, discover, and learn while encouraging their personal and professional development.

We asked them to tell us about their experience working alongside our industry experts.

What did the week look like?

B: I thought that I was literally going to be shadowing an engineer. I was expecting to sit behind an engineer at their desk and watch them design stuff. Instead, I learned how versatile and hands-on mechanical engineering is in the real world. We spent the week rotating between departments to get a comprehensive overview. During our time in each department, we had the chance to meet a variety of people who told us about their job responsibilities, projects, and how they contribute to the overall success of the company.

K: We rotated between departments to learn what they do. We were also given a tour of the manufacturing shop! I learned the connection between the classes I’ve been taking and how I can apply them to the real world- one day.

What was your favorite part?

B: RPM testing! I loved seeing how fast a ring can spin before it gets flown off. I also liked how important Smalley made us feel. We had the opportunity to talk to a lot of different people, and everyone made us feel so welcome. It felt like every day someone new took us out to lunch, which was also great networking experience for me.

K: I’d have to say RPM testing as well. I didn’t expect to have a chance to do something hands-on, so to be a part of a project was awesome and unexpected. We got the chance to rotate rings really fast to figure out their rotational capacities.

How did this impact your future?

B: I’ve always liked traveling, so I enjoyed learning more about what sales engineers do. It seems like I would still be able to utilize my engineering knowledge while also getting to travel.

K: It opened up my eyes to things I didn’t consider before. We had to take a speech class in school and I didn’t really understand why that was so important for an engineer. After spending time here, I see how important communication is, whether it’s working with customers or working on projects between departments.

Was there anything surprising?

B: I was surprised at how many different configurations retaining rings and wave springs could have. What seems like a small change can largely impact the application that the part goes into. Increasing the cross-section of a ring is the difference betwe­­en a light-duty and a heavy-duty application, while increasing the number of waves in a wave spring could mean the difference between a 10 lbs. load output versus 1,000 lbs.

K: It was surprising how many different jobs you can have with a mechanical engineering degree. There were so many mechanical engineers doing a variety of different jobs from quality, sales, to design engineering. It was eye-opening for me to see all of the different career paths I can take.

If you’re a student or a recent graduate, check out our available opportunities to jump-start your career at Smalley today.