Midmark Corporation

Mechanical Engineering Intern

January 2024 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

Midmark's co-op and internship program is very fleshed out and they have co-ops and interns with the intent of building your skills and hiring after graduation. If you do take multiple rotations with them, they will put you in different departments so you can get an idea on what goes on in each department and I enjoy this because it gives you a chance to see what you like doing. I am in the test lab department this rotation and what I do is create test fixtures, conduct tests and collect data, and write reports on the tests I've conducted. Everyone at Midmark is very friendly and makes you feel welcome. Midmark has a lot of benefits as well, you can get your 401K set up, if you're not from around the area they have very cheap living spaces that very nice which are paid from your paycheck and have their own private gym that can be used.

What I wish was different

One thing I wished had been different was that there wasn't a railroad right next to the housing I lived in. Sadly, this can't be changed but it was alright because you get used to it after the first few days. Midmark had multiple team building co-op events which are nice to have but at some points they seemed forced. Some of the events forced everyone to participate and became forced because after so many people participated there was nothing else for the other people to say. To improve this, I would not make it mandatory for participation and have returning co-ops to participate to make newcomers feel more open to participate, that way it feels more natural and less forced.

Advice

If you are ever stuck or confused on what you're supposed to be doing, ask for help!!! You're given mentors and managers for a reason. Being in a co-op doesn't mean you're on your own, the workplace has collaboration going on all the time. Use the resources you're given and learn to improve! You can ask anyone for help or their input, build a network and get to know people, it'll help you in the long run!

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Mechanical Engineering Co-op

January - May 2024 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

I was in the Quality Department at Midmark. This gave me many opportunities to develop my troubleshooting skills. I would receive concerns from customers and other departments within Midmark and would then come up with a solution and carry out the process of incorporating that into production. This included a lot of hands-on work, and exposure to design testing and verification. Midmark has a great Co-op program, they really pour into their Co-ops. They offer many opportunities to grow professionally, and regularly check in on how the Co-op term is going. They aren't just training workers for a job, they are focused on professional development.

What I wish was different

I was pulled in to help on a project by another department. My manager, before I ever started, had volunteered me. Communication from them could have used some work. However, this was not the normal. Communication is pretty clear at Midmark, departments are good at working with each other.

Advice

Midmark Co-ops should pursue the the opportunities to grow that they are presented with. I was able to go to different departments and get an idea of what they did while I was working in the quality department. Relationships and networking are important, and Midmark offers Co-ops many opportunities to develop them. For example, I was able to spend some time with a welding technician and learned how to weld, and in doing so also learned about their process and how that relates to and is affected by my work as an engineer. I recommend reaching out to other departments and people that you interact with and building those connections.

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Engineer Co-op

August - December 2023 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

There were three major aspects of Midmark that I appreciated: the amount of valuable work, building presentation skills, and the mentorship program. As a manufacturing engineer, I was able to work on multiple projects over the semester that were both hands-on and valuable to the company for the production of their soon-to-be-launched products. Throughout the semester, the co-op program required that we present our work three times in addition to a final presentation. In addition to that, the manufacturing group had co-ops participating in weekly presentations as well. This was all extremely valuable to building up my presentation skills, especially when it came to communication of technical concepts. Finally, every co-op is assigned a mentor, mine was very responsive and gave me a lot of constructive criticism which really helped me grow out of my comfort zone.

What I wish was different

I went into this co-op semester thinking that my value would be seen in me being independent and not needing to ask a lot of questions to get projects done. This was a mistake because I wish that from the beginning I had been asking more questions. I eventually was urged by my mentor to ask more questions and this ultimately led to me learning so much more and becoming more independent as a result. I just wish I had done that sooner. I also wish I had not put so much pressure on myself to spend every moment I was there (except for lunch) working. In the end, I wish I had spent a little more time working on professional development and talking to my teammates. Those conversations are very valuable to learning from their experience even if the conversation is not directly related to a project or engineering.

Advice

A big takeaway on my end that I think others would benefit from would be to forget about one's ego going in the door. Going in with the humility that it is okay to ask questions or be vulnerable about the fact that you do not know something or do not feel confident in yourself will help you immensely in truly learning from the experience. I would also say don't be afraid to stick up for yourself either! If you believe you have a good reason to design something a certain way and that gets challenged by an experienced employee, confidently explain why you did something. It either may get another to consider how your solution may be a good option, or it may help you learn more in-depth about why a more experienced teammate thinks another option is stronger.

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Mechanical Engineering Intern

January - May 2023 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

I learned an absolute ton working here, and I was in Operations. My mentor always made sure I had things to do, and also asked if I had enough/too much. My projects ranged from documenting an existing part into their file system (which is where I learned their modeling program and document system), to designing a brand new cart to help transport weld line barrels through the plant. Because my goal is to be a design engineer in the future, it was invaluable to me to learn what the manufacturing and fabricating process is truly like. You can't design a product if you don't understand how it will be made!

What I wish was different

What I wish was different was minor details. For example, even though there were 20+ co-ops at Midmark in my semester, I was an 8+ minute walk away from every other co-op. Everyone else was grouped in the main building, while I was at the very end of one of the attached plants. It would have been nice to grow close to a fellow student while I was there, instead of being by myself. However, I sat right next to my mentor my entire time there, and my group was open and dare I say happy, I was there.

Advice

When you are at a co-op, you are there to learn. That should be your number one goal, and your company's number one goal. So, use that opportunity to ask literally any question on your mind! "How does that machine work?", "where does this assembly go from here?" "How does welding even work?". People love to tell others about what they do, and a work environment, especially a factory, is something you can never read about in textbooks. You'll have about 4 months or so in an internship, use it the absolute best you can.

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Mechanical Engineer Co-Op

May - August 2023 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

The projects I worked on dealt with Midmark's Next Generation Operatory dental chair lights and their dental rear assist units. They did final engineering prototype builds while I was there, and I was put in charge of setting up and priming the lines for these builds. I had to make sure all of the parts were there, and I also updated the work instructions and changed the order of the builds. I liked being able to make connections and work with many different people. I was able to have a couple of different projects throughout the semester, and I enjoyed that because of the opportunities it gave me. I liked also being in the New Product Development area because I was able to get involved in the builds they were doing, and I learned a lot from helping with those. I was also in a program that had a lot of co-ops, and there I was able to network and make new friends with other engineering students.

What I wish was different

I wish the co-op program I was in would have been different. Although I liked the co-ops and the co-op advisors, I didn't love the co-op program in general. There were a lot of meetings that interfered with my work, and we also had report-outs every week. Some of these were very time-consuming, and when I had a lot of work to do I felt rushed. I wish I could have also done some different jobs and not been placed in the same section the entire time. Although I was involved in different projects, I had very similar work to do for all of them, and I wish it could have been mixed up a bit.

Advice

One piece of advice that I would share about this experience is to apply for many jobs so you have options when deciding on where you want to co-op in the summer. I only applied to Midmark, and I didn't keep my options open. Although I enjoyed working at Midmark this summer, I wish I would've looked around more to see what all types of companies I could possibly work for. Making sure you do research and are going to like the job you have is important because you will be there a whole semester, and you want to make sure you're getting everything you can out of it.

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Engineering Co-op

May - August 2023 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

I was given several projects to work on throughout the co-op term. Many of these projects will be implemented and benefit the efficiency of an assembly line. Each project gave me the opportunity to collaborate with others, discuss designs, and do valuable work. In doing these projects, I got a grasp of several programs the company uses and expanded my engineering expertise.

What I wish was different

Overall I was very happy with my co-op term at Midmark. I don't wish anything had been different. However, I would have enjoyed a little more exposure to some of the other departments. I got a glimpse of these departments and what they do when other co-ops presented projects, but I am interested in learning more. I'm sure this is something I will learn more about in a future co-op term at Midmark.

Advice

I would advise to step out of your comfort zone. I found that everyone at Midmark was kind and genuinely wanted to help you. It may be difficult, but by stepping out of your comfort zone you will exponentially increase your chances of expanding your skillsets. This made it very easy to start communicating with people and not only obtain the information I needed, but also develop my soft skills. Overall, this made me feel comfortable in my role at Midmark.

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Test Engineer

January - May 2023 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

I liked the people I was working with, as everyone was very helpful and welcoming. They also were always willing to give advice and answer any questions I had without any issues. I also liked the mixture of hands-on work and work on the computer. I gained a lot of experience with various tools and feel a lot more comfortable using them. Some projects I worked on were tests on the voltage range user count and board voltage for different compressors used, a door rack I designed, tests fixtures for sterilizers, tests for hydrocycle chambers for the sterilizers, test for the vacuum voltage range user count and board voltage, tests on the sterilizer door cover material, and so much more.

What I wish was different

I wish the term would've been a little bit longer. Towards the end here, I finally feel comfortable with how everything in the test lab works. With the semester ending, though, even though I am returning in the Summer I will be going to a different department. This is beneficial, as I get experience in a lot of different departments, but since I was starting to understand how everything works, I wish it were a little bit longer of a term.

Advice

Be willing to have a conversation with the other engineers in the department. I really enjoyed talking to everyone I was working with, and I feel this made me more comfortable in asking questions due to getting to know everyone pretty well. This also made the work experience a lot more enjoyable and productive. Also, with more questions asked, the more feedback and advice I received, which led to me learning more, which is the ultimate goal of the co-op experience.

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Engineering Co-Op

May - August 2022 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

During my time at Midmark, I was presented with a lot of Engineering challenges and given the resources to complete them effectively. I was never bored while doing my work because there was a vast sense of variety in the tasks assigned to me. My mentor did an incredible job in ensuring I knew what to do next without being too easy on me, giving me the perfect environment to grow as a student. Everyone at Midmark was very supportive and helpful with any questions or assistance I may have needed.

What I wish was different

I wish the training was more tailored to the specific role you were about to work in. All of the trainings seemed more generalized, with some information presented to me never being used or thought about. Some things that would have been nice to have initial training on were not presented to me though. Fixing this aspect of starting out would allow new hires to be more comfortable in starting out and getting a hold of the fundamentals.

Advice

The piece of advice I would give is to be open and honest with your mentor. He or she is there to help you grow, and you are there to learn. Tell them about the specific jobs, tasks, or projects you liked, and they will be happy to keep you along that path. Communication is key, so always be willing to talk with others you are working with.

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Engineer co-op

January - April 2022 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

The co-op program at Midmark is very established and structured. This is very helpful because the company has a lot of experience with students and their abilities. Because of the program there are many other co-ops around which allows you to build relationships in the workplace. Everyone at Midmark is super nice and willing to help with anything you need. Overall working at Midmark has been a great experience.

What I wish was different

While the co-op program being well established is great in a lot of ways, it can also allow certain tasks to be designated as a "co-op task". While it is understandable that a student in the co-op role is not going to be alone on high level projects, it sometimes seemed like tasks done by myself and other co-ops did not seem like they were really essential to any projects. Something specific to my own position and not the fault of the program its self but my desk was pretty isolated from other departments and co-ops which made it harder to build relationships. Overall my time was positive but there were certain things that could have made it better.

Advice

Seek out opportunities beyond your department. While you are there to do work for the company and they expect work, they also want you to learn and have experiences. If you have free time seek out opportunities in a different department. Others in the company, especially other co-op mentors are very willing to let you see what they're doing and lend a helping hand. It is always good to get exposed to other things and build relationships if you ever come back to the company and work in a new department.

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Engineering Co-op

January - May 2022 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

The best part about the co-op program at Midmark is the amount of real work that is given. I worked on 18 projects that I owned as well as other people's projects during the one term that I was there. This was real work that full-time engineers would have had to do if I did not do work on it. Furthermore, Midmark has their co-ops present the work that they have done three times throughout the term. This displays how serious Midmark takes their co-op program, as well as allows the co-ops to work on their soft skills.

What I wish was different

One thing that I wish had been different would be learning more about becoming a full time engineer. Although this was my first co-op term, I am going to be a senior this coming year. Therefore, I think it would have been beneficial to hear about the process and what I need to do to become full-time. On the other hand, Midmark did document each co-ops graduation date as well as when they plan on co-oping. This shows that they care about seeing us through to graduation and doing the most that they can for us before that happens.

Advice

My one piece of advice would be to get as much out of the experience that you can. This means working hard everyday and asking as many questions as you can. The more work you do means the more you get to know about the company and it's processes and also allows you to get to work with many other people. Along that line of thought, don't be afraid to set up meetings with other departments to get a better idea of the different roles that engineers can take outside of your own department. This will ensure that you get the best idea of all the different opportunities that Midmark has to offer.

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Mechanical Egineering Co-op

January - April 2022 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

Midmark has a great co-op program that they are constantly trying to improve. The work place culture is fantastic. Everyone is very friendly and willing to help. The projects I worked on were meaningful and had an impact on the company and their product. Midmark holds several events through out the term for Co-op to help them develop as professionals .

What I wish was different

I was shuffled between a couple mentor through the term. Though this was not real anyone fault It it did make some aspects of my work a little bit more challenging. This being said I am grateful to have had the opportunity to learn from all the people that mentored me. I would have like the opportunity to do more hands on work. That being said I think they did there best to give me a variety of work.

Advice

Through out a term at Midmark you do report outs on the projects you work on. When doing these be confident in what you are talking about. No one else know your projects better than you do. When documenting you work through the engineering processes always make sure you say what your doing and do what your say. Lastly If you need help with anything do not be afraid to ask for help. Everyone there is more than will to help you.

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Engineering Co-op

August - December 2021 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

One of my favorite parts about working at Midmark is being able to see the impact your work has on the products. As well as being able to explore various paths in each department throughout the terms. I have been able to express my goals and my mentors were able to give me work that would lead me on the path to achieving those goals as well as improve my skills.

What I wish was different

I wish I started my co-ops sooner so I could have worked more terms at Midmark and been exposed to more of the departments.

Advice

In this term I was sought out more independence with my projects and I feel like that helped me prepare for being full-time after graduation. It is good to have a mentor to guide you and give advice but seeking the independence as you work more terms should be something all co-ops work towards to prepare themselves for the future.

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Data Analytics Intern

January 2021 • Versailles, OH

What I liked

I really liked the flexibility and the ability to do the internship while in school. I also liked that I had 2 bosses for 2 different departments where my workload was different. The weekly work was somewhat repetitive, but it was nice to be able to start my work for the week without much supervision, then get into more project-based work later in the week. I really enjoyed the research projects that I was given on best practices for the industry. I really was able to learn a lot.

What I wish was different

I do wish I would've been in the office with other interns and that I would have received more project work at times. The work did get monotonous at times, but management does a good job of trying to break things up.

Advice

Reach out to people across the company! They are more than willing to have a 15 min conversation about their position and experiences which can really help you determine where you fit best.

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