As we find ourselves a bit more than a month from our return to school, one can’t help but think about where the summer has gone. I, like many of you have found myself spending 40 hours a week sitting in a cubicle learning what it is like to have a “real job.” For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure of exposing yourself to Corporate America, I must say that it’s significantly more tolerable than any retail job one could ever have (See my previous article for more on the wonderful world of retail). With my career as a summer intern halfway through, I feel obligated to give you a perspective on what it’s like to be a slave to The Man.
In my first day as a network communications intern at SuperCorp, I showed up at the front security desk and announced that I was to commence work that day and I did not have my ID badge yet. This would be the first of many instances where I would learn the complications of getting the simplest task achieved. I was sent along my way to the human resources office to fill out paperwork and was told I’d receive my ID later. Once I completed the obligatory tax forms and everything else, I was shown my desk and left there.
Shortly thereafter, I was greeted by a number of the desktop support people who were charged with the task of providing me with my credentials for logging into the computer and grant me access to email. Both passwords looked like something my computer spits out in a Windows error message; amazingly, I’ve managed to memorize them by now. Once I officially became an authorized user on the network, it was nearly lunch time. Unfortunately, I was told that every Monday at noon there is a videoconference with all of the people in our group across the country.
My first real assignment on the job was to go on a quest to locate every fax machine and videoconferencing unit in the building and record its brand, location, model number and the jack number where it was plugged in. They might as well have sent me looking for the great Wizard of Oz, because the building is laid out in such a way that you could easily walk in circles all day and not know you’ve already been somewhere. After an entire day of doing laps around the building I managed to complete the task, as well as learn what rooms I do and don’t have access to.
In the following weeks, I would become an expert at installing and troubleshooting wireless headsets, VoIP phones, network connections and many other tasks that my $30,000+ a year UT education has prepared me for (HA!!). Seriously though, I must say that I have learned many things in my time as an intern that I never could have learned sitting in a classroom. I can also say with confidence that there are things I definitely never would have known how to do here if I hadn’t spent all that time working on project proposals and staring at diagrams of how a local area network really works.
As most people can tell you, being an intern is not the most glamorous job in the world, but it’s definitely something that every college student, especially business majors should do at least once. After just a month and a half of this internship, I’m hooked! I’m already pursuing another position for the fall someplace else.
On a completely unrelated note for those who don’t already know, beginning in the fall I will be the online editor for TheMinaretOnline.com. As a result, I most likely will not be returning with my weekly column here in the commentary section. It is my hope that we will be able to introduce blogs to our ever-expanding repertoire of online media, as well as many other new and exciting features. It is in that respect that you can expect to see my return. I will also continue to contribute my graphic talents to the print edition, so I won’t be completely absent from the world of you old fashioned print readers either. Until then have a safe summer, and I’ll see you in the fall, bro!
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