What It’s Like to Be an Engineering Intern at 3M

I grew up in a small town 20 minutes north of the Cumberland Plant and one of my friends who knew I was studying engineering mentioned that it would be a good place to work. I sent in an application and later accepted an interview where I was hired on to be a Manufacturing Engineering Intern. I became more interested in the design aspect of the machines and later did a few interviews which led to me accepting the position of Design Engineering Intern. After networking with other employees, someone suggested that I might enjoy Project Engineering, which led me to accepting the position that I currently hold. 

I am currently working on 10 projects, all for different products supported by MSD. Projects range from replacing old equipment to doubling the production output of a process line to coming up with an entirely new quality management system for products. My favorite project is our Nypro project, which is seeking to find a better solution for monitoring the quality of 3M’s Ranger Fluid Warming System. 

All the factors that make the project possible like scheduling, budget, determining all the people needed on the team to get the job done, and all the different forms of communication that it takes to make a project successful. 

I have friends who are also studying engineering that have done internships with numerous other companies and one of the main differences I have noticed between all of them is the culture. At 3M, I’m working on real projects and performing in a position that models a fulltime employee as closely as it can in a period of just 12 weeks. Additionally, when I am added to a project, other team members have treated me as the project engineer and not as the “intern.” 

Our team is currently looking for an XY-gantry system that will meet all our needs on the Nypro project and I worked on reprogramming a custom-built XY tester at the 3M plant in Cumberland two years ago. I was able to contact my mentor from Cumberland and he invited me back to discuss the XY tester’s functions and capabilities. Seeing how past experiences and connections to people can help with unrelated future problems shows just how important diversity is to a team and how there is value in the different ideas, connections and experiences that each person brings to the table. 

Interested in an internship with 3M? Join 3M’s Talent Community and learn how your skills might be a fit at 3M when an opportunity opens up.