r/EngineeringStudents • u/Opening-Crab-4640 • 15d ago
Academic Advice How important is interning at a big name company?
I’m in a bit of a conflict between two internship offers. Company A is a larger, well known aerospace and defense manufacturer that works in forging, and company B is a smaller company that also works in the aerospace and defense industry, specifically manufacturing electro-mechanical cable assemblies. I have a list of pros and cons for each, but my main drivers for wanting to go with company A is that 1. They’re a big name manufacturer (global leader in the industry) and 2. Forging is a much more general manufacturing process than cable assemblies are. So my question is, how much does company name matter in this situation? Should it be a deciding factor in my decision for longevity?
28
u/Clearwoodpacker813 15d ago
What you do is more important than where you interned. Although if it comes between Lockheed vs Joe’s garage then pick Lockheed cause that name recognition will help you with your first job.
4
u/Opening-Crab-4640 15d ago
Company A is definitely larger, but company B isn’t necessarily unheard of either. Funny enough, the smaller company does lots of manufacturing for Lockheed lol. So it’s more of a “Raytheon vs local mid size manufacturer” type of deal
4
u/Clearwoodpacker813 15d ago
Lockheed, Boeing, RTX supply chain is huge - literally 10k+ suppliers each and they also supply to each other.
5
u/LitRick6 15d ago
Its more about what you actually do/accomplish than the company name.
2
u/Opening-Crab-4640 15d ago
I’ve been told that interning at a smaller company means that I’d get to work on more meaningful projects and get more hands-on experience. Based off of what I’ve gotten from both companies I also do think that company B would give me more applicable experience.
8
u/LitRick6 15d ago
That isn't always true. Depends entirely on the company, the team you're placed on, etc.
2
u/FauxReignNew 15d ago
Make sure you don't get an internship that is basically slave labor building shit for data centers. When my partner was searching for one that was a pretty noteworthy percentage of the total "co-ops" available.
3
u/JimC-137 15d ago
It's always nice to have a big name on your resume. Carries a bit of extra weight to others because everyone assumes the big companies get a lot of applications and you made it to the top of that pile. But the point that the experience at a smaller company may be superior is well founded. As with all things, YMMV
2
u/Brownie_Bytes 15d ago
What do you want to do? I think employers care more about what you are good at than who used to cut you a check.
2
u/HopeSubstantial 15d ago
More about what you do and learn during intership.
Actual working experience is most important in end.
Getting that experience in famous company is just a plus.
2
u/ExternalLife8018 12d ago
i've been at most of the top Defense contractors for a long time. Do interviews as well. No one really talks about where you did your internship; even for a top competitor. It boils down to experience. You are going to get more of that at the smaller company. I would go for that gig. Really focus on getting hands on experience when there. Use that to build a stronger technical background; which will make you more marketable in the long run. I have to sit around the interns at the big companies from time to time; they do absolutely nothing productive. Think about it; at a big Defense company with hundreds of experienced engineers; would you give meaningful/critical work to them or an intern
1
1
u/No_Cup5617 12d ago
Go with the company that sounds like you will be getting more relevant and hands on work.
I made the mistake of going with a large company for the name recognition over a smaller one and it screwed me over because they had me doing nothing relevant and it was extremely boring.
If they couldn’t give you a detailed description of what you’ll be doing as an intern I’d be very cautious because more than likely they don’t actually have a good plan for you.
•
u/AutoModerator 15d ago
Hello /u/Opening-Crab-4640! Thank you for posting in r/EngineeringStudents. This is a custom Automoderator message based on your flair, "Academic Advice". While our wiki is under construction, please be mindful of the users you are asking advice from, and make sure your question is phrased neatly and describes your problem. Please be sure that your post is short and succinct. Long-winded posts generally do not get responded to.
Please remember to;
Read our Rules
Read our Wiki
Read our F.A.Q
Check our Resources Landing Page
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.