Burgess & Niple, Inc.

Co-op Engineer

May - August 2024 • Erie, PA

What I liked

I worked in a smaller office, and as a result, I was able to get to know everyone well in the office. Because of this, I learned so much from being comfortable asking the people around me questions, whether it was for help on something that I was working on, about their past work experience, or the kind of projects they were doing. I primarily worked on drawing utility infrastructure projects in Civil 3D. It allowed me to better understand the process of drawing plans for a utility project like what kind of GIS information is needed, what kind of specs need to be included, what factors would influence the location of a utility line, etc. I was also able to become more familiar with Civil 3D and more efficient.

What I wish was different

I wish that I could've been more involved in the design element of projects. I spoke to my coworkers throughout the summer about the design work that they were doing and found it very interesting. I gained a lot of experience drawing projects in Civil 3D and learned a lot about what information has to be gathered and what details are important. Moving forward that knowledge will be helpful when I eventually can work on design.

Advice

One piece of advice I would share about a summer internship at a civil engineering consulting firm is to seek out learning opportunities and ask questions. While working on assigned tasks is important, actively engaging with engineers, participating in site visits, and understanding the context of your projects will teach you so much. There is such a wide variety of projects that can come up, so being willing to learn new things is a very valuable skill. It will also diversify your knowledge and skillset and help in future classes, internships, or work experiences.

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