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| The Breakers, RI (only slightly larger than my apartment) |
Week 1
I'm up early Monday, June 13th to meet a fellow Northeastern MBA for a carpool out to Lynn to begin our first day at GE Aviation. I still can't believe I snagged a co-op at such a large, esteemed company. I just hope I can live up to their expectations. They are, after all, the American model of Six Sigma and business leadership programs.
Luckily the first day starts out slow with badgeing (how official) and a co-op orientation until noon. After hearing about all the opportunities available to the nearly 150 co-ops here at GE and filling out mounds of paperwork, my fellow Northeastern classmates and I are picked up by our respective bosses for lunch catered by GE Aviation's own on-site cafeteria. Hey, I could get used to this.
The rest of the day is filled with mingling and getting to meet my boss for the first time. I check out my cube, which I share with another Northeastern MBA co-op, and go about getting a laptop and ordering some furniture. With so many interns at GE it could be a while before I get a desk, chair or even a computer.
The rest of the week I learn how to ride the commuter rail to work (I actually love the commute). GE even has its own, exclusive commuter rail stop. I feel like it'll be nice to have those commutes to read, sip my morning Dunkin' coffee and wake up.
Work-wise, I spend most of week one learning about all of the opportunities available to GE co-ops. The company offers courses you can take for free - including online courses from other GE companies such as NBC Universal and GE Capital. I also explore the EID website (GE's term for co-ops). They hold weekly Friday lunches, after work beach volleyball, volunteer opportunities, plant tours, speaker series and more! I don't think I could possibly participate in all of these offerings even if I tried. How neat.
In addition to those activities available exclusively to co-ops, GE Aviation has an on-site gym, cafeteria and medical center open to all 3,600 on-site employees. This place is a verifiable compound.
In addition to wrapping my head around the enormity that is GE, I spend a good amount of time trying to learn what employees loving refer to as 'GE alphabet soup'. What are they talking about, you ask? Well, it's things like LTTD, FADEC, TSTP, AIT or, acronym overload. I've started my own dictionary on the side just to keep track.
While I knew going into this residency that there would be a steep learning curve at GE I am still surprised at the technicality involved in each meeting I attend my first week. I definitely have a lot to learn. However, I feel lucky to have come into GE at this time in particular. We're working on what I'm told is a very complex international proposal. I'm sure that I'll be exposed to every detail of putting together a bid, for better or worse! In fact, I've already been on conference calls with international GE representatives, executives from our Evendale, Ohio corporate offices and more.
In addition to helping out with this large proposal I'm told that I will simultaneously be working on getting marketing licenses (DSP5s), compliance plans and more for international bidding and customer support purposes.
After an overwhelming first week it's time for some relaxation on the weekend. Not only do I sleep in and get into the mindset of my new, homework-free lifestyle, but I also help a friend find a new apartment. We head out to Somerville, Massachusetts which I've never been to. She snags an awesome studio. After submitting her application we head to the Cambridge Galleria for some shopping and catching up. I haven't seen her since our India trip in May!
Week 2
My second week at GE Aviation is all about training modules, paperwork and completing my GE co-op requirements (which are in addition to those put forth by Northeastern).
I set about filling out GE's process workflow. The process workflow is required for all interns at GE and is basically a fancy term for a list of manager-approved goals I will be responsible for completing before my time here ends. This process workflow includes preliminary meetings with my manager to discuss mutually beneficial goals, a midterm review and a final review before processing out. In fact, I'm told that the results of my reviews will have a substantial impact on any future hiring decisions.
However, the process workflow is just one element of GE's well-established intern program; something I really appreciated in the nervousness of my first couple of weeks. I imagine that in most large companies an intern could get lost and never actually get a chance to sit down with their manager and discuss both parties' goals. But at GE, this type of dedication to a successful internship is required.
Another interesting element about working at GE is the peak into Corporate America that I get. The Northeastern co-ops arrive in midst of GE Aviation's company-wide contract negotiations with their unions. Apparently the unions negotiate a new contract every four years, and 2011 is one of those years. From what I hear the Lynn site has traditionally been a dissenter in the votes and Human Resources has already scheduled meetings to discuss plans of action should there be a strike. In fact, two of our corporate residents have been offered the opportunity to work through the weekend to help with shipments should the unions decide to strike. Crazy! I really hope that a strike doesn't interrupt my brief six months here.
On the more positive side of working for a large company, I have signed up for one of GE's many free classes: a Green Belt Six Sigma certification course! I'm so excited. The class runs for four days in October. After the classroom instruction portion is complete I must pass a test and then complete a 12-step project that will implement Lean Six Sigma practices in my department. This will be a great tool to have and I don't think it will hurt the ol' resume either.
As you can see, one could be kept perfectly busy with their residency obligations alone but keep in mind that in addition to your job responsibilities, you still have Northeastern MBA action items to complete. One of these is a periodic meeting with your Corporate Residency Learning Team (CoRE LT). My CoRe team is made up of 5 GE corporate residents and a classmate working at LogMeIn. We will be meeting about three times during the next six months with one of our professors to discuss our Living Document goals, accomplishments and to support each other. We set up our first meeting for July 7th at a restaurant near campus. I'm a littler nervous about having accomplished enough by then to have something substantial to talk about. We'll see how that goes...
On Friday of week 2, our co-op lunch is held at the ever-gaudy Prince Pizza in Saugus; its replica Leaning Tower of Pisa signalling from the roof that mediocre pizza can be found inside. Classy! But, I admit, it is fun to hang out with so many of the co-ops, here where they came from and what they are doing at GE. Most are undergraduate interns, some coming as from as far as the University of Miami and Michigan State!
That night I meet up with a friend interning at Hasbro, for dinner and drinks at 21st Amendment where I get the amazing 21st burger. Yum! After, we both make our way to Crossroads; a bar where several classmates are meeting up for our regular Friday night drinks. It's great to catch up with everyone and finally have some work stories of my own to share.
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| View of Ocean from the Breakers, RI |
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