In the US, 60% of students in each graduating college class completed an internship or co-op during their time in college. That’s about 2.4 million students each year!
Studies have shown that internships give college students a competitive edge when applying for jobs after graduation. For example:
- 56.1% of internships result in full-time jobs.
- Completing internships increases job offers by 16%.
- Tech firms prioritize candidates with internship experience, as seen at both Facebook and Google, where 80.2% and 78.3% of workers, respectively, completed an internship.
- The starting annual salary for college graduates who completed a paid internship and were employed by a private, for-profit company was $53,521, while those who did not complete an internship started with an average of $38,572.
Since March 2020, we have all experienced challenges and difficulties due to the pandemic and quarantine restrictions, which have forced many of us to work remotely. With its massive growth, Cognite is constantly looking for diverse and talented people, and the internship program has proven to be a successful way to help secure workforce expansion.
Cognite has adapted to the challenges of this past year and a half, employing three interns who work entirely remotely. This summer, Cognite’s North America interns include Gayatri Babel, Noah Fleischmann, and Michael Sprintson. We are also thrilled to welcome back two previous interns, Sangyoon Park and Lauren Louk, as full-time Cogniters.
Getting to know the interns
Living across the US in different locations, our summer interns also have vastly different interests.
Gayatri, originally from India, lives in Berkeley, Calif., where she attends the University of California, Berkeley. Gayatri is in her third year and is studying data science. She enjoys cooking, especially Indian food, which she misses from her home country.
Noah, who has lived in Scotland and Houston, moved to Boston to go to college, where he is a senior at Northeastern University. Noah writes and records music, playing piano, guitar, and accordion.
Michael has lived in Texas his whole life, growing up in College Station and later moving to Houston to attend Rice University. At Rice, Michael is a rising senior, studying electrical engineering and data science. Michael loves both hardware and software, so he often participates in hackathons for fun and likes to build computers.
Why Cognite?
When she first discovered Cognite, Gayatri read about a computer vision project that aimed to reduce the harmful impact of wind turbines on wildlife. The project used a model to detect bird migration patterns and animal behavior so that the wind turbines could avoid hitting flying birds.
When Gayatri researched this project, she was working on a computer vision project herself for a different company and was interested in seeing how this was used differently at Cognite. Gayatri was intrigued by the positive effects Cognite could bring as she has a personal mission to positively impact the environment.
Noah was also interested in what Cognite could do, seeing the uniqueness of the company and its impact on the oil and gas industry.
Cognite is a young, rapidly growing company, something that Michael took an interest in. He saw that he could make an impact with his work at Cognite, and he aligns himself with one of Cognite’s values, velocity, as he loves a fast-paced work environment that frequently offers new and exciting challenges.
Working (it out) remotely
As with all other Cogniters, the interns have quickly learned how to collaborate with people and teams in different locations and time zones, while (in many cases) working remotely. This way of working presents both challenges and benefits.
“I enjoy remote working, and all the work I do is more convenient to do remotely,” Michael said. “It’s really pleasant not to have a commute and be able to step away from the computer into a familiar environment that is controlled by yourself.”
Gayatri said she is able to be productive at home, as she is most comfortable in an environment that allows her to move around while working.
Though Michael said he enjoys working from home, he added that it feels that “it has been much harder to balance work and life, as there is no physical barrier to tell me when to stop working. If I’m relaxing at home and I have my computer open with code I need to finish, it is almost impossible to stop myself,” he said.
Noah stressed the importance of creating a daily routine where he can be the most productive.
”I usually get up at 7 am and work until noon,” Noah said, “After 12 I take a break where I do something like go to the park or gym. When I get home, usually around 3, I start working again until 6 pm.”
What they worked on
For the interns’ first project, they made a dashboard that is part of a demo tenant for the Sales team, which they can use while courting clients to show what Cognite Data Fusion® can do. The dashboard is the front-facing part of a virtual flow meter that uses data to approximate the flow in a well.
During this project, Gayatri, Michael, and Noah met frequently online to collaborate on the dashboard, which helped them build a better relationship. Not only did this project give the interns a chance to work together, but it was also the perfect introduction to the Cognite Data Fusion® environment and infrastructure.
Want to transform industry? Apply now
If you want to do as Gayatri, Noah, and Michael and work at a company that offers flexible remote working possibilities and a great work environment, apply for an internship or a full-time position at Cognite.
To apply, go to Cognite’s careers page and select the appropriate or desired job position. You can also view available positions on Cognite’s BuiltIn Austin page. Cognite has hired interns from a number of universities around the world, so you can also apply through your college if possible.