Jen Lawrence

Majors:  Electrical Engineering, Computer Engineering
Year: Third-Year

• Who are you co-oping with?

Keithley/Tektronix in Solon, Ohio.

• What are your day-to-day tasks?

[My title is] continuous Engineering Support Co-Op. Our team is in charge of maintaining current Keithley products. Electronic components go end-of-life or experience shortages every day, so when this happens its our job to create test plans for new components, put them into the units, and test to ensure they still meet the specifications that we promise. In addition to this, I'm also working on an individual project, making a 3.5-digit DMM (digital multimeter).

• What was your favorite part?

As much as I absolutely love the opportunity to make an entire handheld DMM from scratch, I think my favorite part of this co-op has been the environment that I get to work in. The culture at Keithley is so positive and uplifting and there's always something fun happening! Whether it's build your own Putt-Putt Golf Day, or I'm just visiting my boss's cube for a snack, I know I'm going to have fun each day.

• What is something you've learned that you didn't know before starting your co-op?

I've learned an incredible amount from my experiences at Tek. It's one thing to learn about circuits and design on paper, but actually putting it into practice is a whole different experience. I've learned so much about designing a schematic, converting it into a layout, and populating the board. I'm excited to be able to apply this to my studies, as I now have a much deeper understanding of analog circuits!

• How did you find your co-op?

I feel like my co-op found me! I was looking around at one of the career fairs when I met the representatives from Keithley. We got to talking a little bit about the company, and I gave them my resume. Afterwards, I got an email for an interview and the rest was history.

If another student asked you about co-op, what would you tell them?

I know it can be really scary to take a semester away from classes, but honestly the experience is SO worth it. I was nervous about moving around my studies, but everything will work out in the end, and there are so many resources on campus to assist with this. Experiential education will help you learn invaluable lessons that will help you so much in your academic and professional career. Plus, interning at a company for 5-8 months on co-op as opposed to 2-3 over the summer will help you get a much more well-rounded experience!