Applied physicist, summer internship - panicking

[argon1120]

I am about to commence a 3 month summer internship as an applied physicist. The job role involves working within the R&D department performing on the bench experimentation involving optical and electromagnetic sensing and analysis using python. Having finished my University exams on June the 10th, immediately followed by a holiday abroad and then becoming quite ill post holiday, I haven't had time to enquire about how I could further prepare for my start date. I am therefore in quite a state of panic!

In addition to this I have just read testimonials from previous interns all of whom attended superior universities to mine. This has compounded my nerves as I am beginning to think I won't be of the appropriate calibre to be a successful intern.

Please could someone advise me on which technologies would be useful to learn about regarding optical and electromagnetic sensing before I start, or generally any advice/tips about interning as an applied physicist. Any help would be much appreciated!

P.S apologies if this in an inappropriate post for the forum/section.

 

[jedishrfu]

What did the internship say? What tools are used? Do they do analysis with MATLAB or some other software? If you don't know find out.

If they do use some software that you don't know then I suggest going through a tutorial on it. Other than that there's not much else to do until you start the job.

Just stay attentive, ask questions, take notes, read everything they give you and do the job to the best of your ability.

Remember they understand that you are new to the job and will give you time to get up to speed. The employer knows what they are looking for and the fact that you got accepted means you have the skills they are interested in so enjoy your time there and don't let your worries incapacitate you.

 

[Dale]

I haven't had time to enquire about how I could further prepare for my start date. I am therefore in quite a state of panic!

Did you exaggerate or lie on your application or resume?

If not, then they are aware of your skill set and will offer you the additional training needed. No need to worry.

If you did exaggerate or lie then you will do poorly. At least this will just be an internship that you will fail at and then you will have learned to be honest on your resume in the future.

 

[mpresic3]

I have some experience with interns over many years, and I have not been entirely happy with the system, (I say the system because I do not know whether the trouble is with them, with me, or with the expectations).
First, in the past I have seen some interns which have told me of research they want to do academically using methods on the forefront of research. Most of this research is interesting but inapplicable. We have no use for someone who wants to cut a lawn most efficiently in 14 dimensions. Many of these interns put in an honest days work, but they show no interest in working with any passion, coming back to us for further internships, or more importantly do not avail themselves to learn subject matter that we are well able to teach them. Many of us (senior subject matter experts) publish, and represent nationally and internationally as much as many of their professors. Perhaps surprisingly, if they sought us out or invested some time with us, they might go back to university with greater competence than they left even in the advanced research area they are interested.

This year in particular though it seems like many interns have fallen into the trap of the story of the zen master and the full cup. I find some think they should try to set the world on fire, and do everything in 10 or fewer weeks. It cannot be done. I welcome the enthusiasm, but I find that many interns do not realize it takes time to learn and I find some want to "show us" how they do it at their school.

If I had to give advise, I would tell them (and their seniors) that they are there to learn. I hope I am not in the minority, but I expect the interns will come with an "empty cup to fill", and not try to impress us with what they already know (or think they know). (I feel I should also give advise to some seniors, they are there to learn, not use as "slave labor". Be prepared to invest time away from your important (possibly crucial) work to answer a lot of questions. )

In one regard you are in luck.​

There may be a chance that you could not possibly be expected to use tools (which may be proprietary) or develop an expertise so far. The most important characteristic to bring is a strong work ethic, maturity, possibly some humility, and a sense of humor (people skills). I do not expect interns to necessarily have MATLAB, python, Java, C++, R, or any other "flavor of the month". I have found some with no MATLAB experience to pick up writing good code in perhaps a week or two. I have found others who never seem to go any further than simple instructions. And both of these types have been valuable. It is a matter of structuring their work appropriately to their abilities.

 

[jedishrfu]

I don't think you can expect students fresh from academia to really understand an internship and what it means first time around.

At one company where i worked interns were assigned software system testing. In many cases, these interns never returned.

We had one intern who made pencil and rubberband balls to the chagrin of the manager and i don't think he was ever hired again.

Bottomline you are being watched and evaluated and being on your best behavior is critical for recommendations or future fulltime employment.

 

[argon1120]

What did the internship say? What tools are used? Do they do analysis with MATLAB or some other software? If you don't know find out.

If they do use some software that you don't know then I suggest going through a tutorial on it. Other than that there's not much else to do until you start the job.

Just stay attentive, ask questions, take notes, read everything they give you and do the job to the best of your ability.

Remember they understand that you are new to the job and will give you time to get up to speed. The employer knows what they are looking for and the fact that you got accepted means you have the skills they are interested in so enjoy your time there and don't let your worries incapacitate you.

Thank you this is helpful, I have been looking at relevant tutorials as well as revising the topics mentioned.

 

[argon1120]

I have some experience with interns over many years, and I have not been entirely happy with the system, (I say the system because I do not know whether the trouble is with them, with me, or with the expectations).
First, in the past I have seen some interns which have told me of research they want to do academically using methods on the forefront of research. Most of this research is interesting but inapplicable. We have no use for someone who wants to cut a lawn most efficiently in 14 dimensions. Many of these interns put in an honest days work, but they show no interest in working with any passion, coming back to us for further internships, or more importantly do not avail themselves to learn subject matter that we are well able to teach them. Many of us (senior subject matter experts) publish, and represent nationally and internationally as much as many of their professors. Perhaps surprisingly, if they sought us out or invested some time with us, they might go back to university with greater competence than they left even in the advanced research area they are interested.

This year in particular though it seems like many interns have fallen into the trap of the story of the zen master and the full cup. I find some think they should try to set the world on fire, and do everything in 10 or fewer weeks. It cannot be done. I welcome the enthusiasm, but I find that many interns do not realize it takes time to learn and I find some want to "show us" how they do it at their school.

If I had to give advise, I would tell them (and their seniors) that they are there to learn. I hope I am not in the minority, but I expect the interns will come with an "empty cup to fill", and not try to impress us with what they already know (or think they know). (I feel I should also give advise to some seniors, they are there to learn, not use as "slave labor". Be prepared to invest time away from your important (possibly crucial) work to answer a lot of questions. )

In one regard you are in luck.

There may be a chance that you could not possibly be expected to use tools (which may be proprietary) or develop an expertise so far. The most important characteristic to bring is a strong work ethic, maturity, possibly some humility, and a sense of humor (people skills). I do not expect interns to necessarily have MATLAB, python, Java, C++, R, or any other "flavor of the month". I have found some with no MATLAB experience to pick up writing good code in perhaps a week or two. I have found others who never seem to go any further than simple instructions. And both of these types have been valuable. It is a matter of structuring their work appropriately to their abilities.

Thank you for your response. I had forgotten that my employers actually stated in the interview that they wanted someone with the capacity to learn an understand the subject on the job as oppose to someone 'who thinks they already know it all'. The majority of the final interview was spent them testing this attribute. I will remind myself of this fact to calm my nerves!

 

[marcusl]

My employer has an active intern program. We are selective in choosing candidates, and they usually work out well--over 60% of our interns are either invited back or, if they will be graduating, are offered jobs. In addition to the advice you've received above, I would add this: don't spin your wheels if you don't understand something or get stuck while working on an assignment. We would rather have an intern interrupt engineers multiple times for guidance than waste 2 or 3 days without progress.