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Sample Reports
Joshua Dearth This is my first co-op and my first real job, so I was pretty nervous about starting it, but I have learned so much from it. I am currently working at ControlSoft Inc. based in Highland Heights, Ohio. I work for ConstrolSoft as a software developer. I am almost exclusively contracted out to DOW Chemical to make enhancements and specialization of ControlSoft's Mantra product for them. Therefore, I am in constant communication with people from inside DOW and from other companies whose products are used in conjunction with Mantra by DOW to both answer questions and obtain information in order to complete my projects. Also, every week we have a conference call with many people within DOW to discuss current projects, concerns, and requests. I participate in these calls and occasionally I am required to contribute and bring suggestions and solutions to the table. I am really glad I've had this type of experience because I think it will be very useful to me in future jobs and situations. I've learned so many things during this co-op that I would have never learned in school. Before I started, I only really "knew" C++ very well (I use the term "knew" loosely because I found out that I really didn't know anything but the basics of C++), but thanks to this position, I've learned so many aspects of C++ and been forced to learn Visual Basic, .NET, and C# in order to get some of my projects done. In learning these languages, I had to make a template project for other people so that they could take what I had done and base other projects off it. Aside from having to learn programming languages, I have also had to learn about GUIs (Graphical User Interface), DLLs (Dynamic Linking Libraries), MFC (Microsoft Foundation Classes, which are extremely useful to know in the programming world), COM (the Component Object Model), OPC (OLE Process Control), OPC servers and OPC clients. I realize now, quite frankly, that the only thing that school has prepared me with was the absolute basics of programming and the rest of it I have had to learn on the job. Now, thanks to my job, I know 100 times more about programming than when I first started and I learn something new every day (literally). I really like my co-op. I don't think that anything I could do in the classroom could compare to everything that I've learned in just the few months I've been on co-op so far. My workplace is extremely friendly and any time I have a question, I can ask anybody there and they'll help me with it. The projects are challenging and force me to learn new things all the time. I've learned about how an office really works and how to communicate with co-workers and persons from other companies in order to get a project done. I am so much more prepared for the real world than I was before. I was kind of overwhelmed at first, but now I know what is expected of me, I now I can do it, and I know where to look if I need to figure out how to do a particular thing or what to do in a particular situation. I would have been extremely overwhelmed upon graduation at my first job if I hadn't had this experience now. ControlSoft is an extremely good company and they've been very patient with me. I don't think I could have asked for a better place to work and learn on my first co-op or any co-op. |
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