Final Reflection

All in all I can honestly say I enjoyed my internship. It allowed me to see how how the skills and techniques we are learning in school today are used in the workplace and later in life. It forced responsibilities on me that I had never had before. I have never had a real job until this, so it was new to me to have be somewhere at a certain time on certain days. I wasn't used to what it was like in the workplace so this has really broadened my horizons. I also wasn't expecting to be so heavily involved in the tasks that need to be completed. I think the AOIT program is a great idea and should continue with its senior internships. It has allowed me to finalize my career path and shown me how things happen after high school.

Issues

During my internship I never really encountered any major problems or issues. Sure everyday I encountered little things that I got stuck on that took me a little longer to figure out then I wanted them to, but nothing that ever made me just want to walk out and never come back. Most of my problems I encountered were technical difficulties from the ATMs. Most of these I fixed with just trial and error. I would move cords around or change the programming and most of the time that would work. But if that ever failed me I could always just call on the help of my coworkers and more times than not they could have it fixed in a matter of seconds.

Career Must Haves

Through this internship I was able to realize what I do and don't want out of a career. The work atmosphere helped me realize I want a workplace where I can feel comfortable sharing my personal life, whether that's family, financial issues, or simple things like wanting to buy a new car, and knowing that the people around me genuinely care and want what's best for me just as badly as I do. I also have realized that I want a job where I get to interact with people everyday. But as much good in the workplace it showed it also showed me what I want to avoid. I don't think I can handle staring at that computer screen in my little cubicle for up to ten hours a day, five days a week. I honestly would just go mad if all I did was stare at the little loading icons waiting for pop ups giving me things to do.

Career Path

My outlook as to what I want to do with my life hasn't really been impacted by my internship. I still plan on being a teacher as well as a high school football coach. I did enjoy the ATM work and all the technology that came with it. However, I just am not enough of a "math person" to be able to do that for the rest of my life. For college plans my coworkers were definitely able to give me some good advice since all of them have already gone through it. I plan to attend as well as play football at Wingate University in the fall 2016 semester.

Duties

As I have neared the end of my internship my duties have definitely changed from what they were in the beginning. I am being given more things to do, as well as more complex things to do that I wouldn't have been able to complete when I first started out. I certainly have a lot more on my plate now than when I first started out.When I first started all I ever really did was clean ATMs and stare at the wall; now I not only clean ATMs, but I also program, and install them. As well as aiding in customer service over the phone when someone calls in having a problem with one of our ATMs. On occasion I also get to go out and deliver/ pick up parts that need to be inspected or repaired.

Contribution

My main contribution to my company is honestly just being another set of hands on the job. Now it might sound silly but just me being there I feel has made it easier on my coworkers. With me being the low mad on the totem pole, they can give me the tedious tasks that they would normally have to do. While I take care of the simpler things in the workplace, it allows them to worry about bigger projects and more important things than just cleaning ATMs. One thing that made me feel proud of myself was fixing an ATM one of my very first days on the job. All day everyone had been working on this one ATM trying to diagnose what was wrong with it. It was a real head scratcher. I guess you can call it beginner's luck because I just walked in not really knowing what I was doing and moved a couple cords around here and there and Presto! it was working again,

Expectations

My internship has far surpassed any expectations I had set for it. When I first started out, all they had me do was clean machines inside and out. I.began to worry that that's how I was going to finish my 135 hours. But as time went on and I got more and more hours under my belt, they began to trust me with bigger and more projects and responsibilities. I then moved to programming ATMs as well as inventory, then I was able to go out on installations, and after that I was even trusted to pick up/drop off equipment that need to be inspected or fixed. I don't believe I can decide what I get to work on day in and day out, but I can control what my superiors think I should be doing. If I work hard and complete all my daily tasks to their full expectations of me, they will see that and give me more complex tasks more frequently.

Prior Knowledge

AOIT has prepared me for my internship in ways I couldn't even imagine. From a technology standpoint my programming classes have made it easier on me when programming the ATMs. The others at work told me it takes me about half the time as it did other people when they were starting out. So that definitely gave me an edge. But not only that, all our projects and presentations we do from class to class has allowed me to be better with people and developed my soft skills far beyond other kids my age. However I still have lots to learn about the ATM industry. I wish prior to my internship I had taken some accounting classes or some business marketing type classes so I was better able to understand how the money is being moved when I look at the ATM results when on the computers back at work. I struggled to understand where the money was coming from and who was providing the money to the ATMs because on the computers it just looked like a bunch of jibberish to me.

Atmosphere

The atmosphere at work is very relaxed. It's the type of environment where you can talk about your personal life, and people will show genuine interest.  We all just walk in get to our desks and wait for Mr. Roth or Mr. Mercer to give us our daily tasks. Throughout the day we are all constantly cracking jokes at each other just to make the work day that much more enjoyable. AT work most decisions are collaborative ones, and if something goes wrong with a machine or someone is having trouble finding a solution to one of their problems, the whole team drops everything they are doing and it turns into a group discussion as to what to do to fix the issue. Dress code at work is very loose, it honestly depends on how fancy you are feeling that day. Some days we all will show up in just a hoodie and sweatpants, then others we will have collared shirts and khakis. Our work ethic is very good because we have so many deadlines we have to meet in the ATM business that we like to get things done as fast as possible.

ATM USA

I am doing my internship through a company called ATM USA. ATM USA does exactly what you would think when reading their name; ship ATMs every and anywhere throughout the country. We sell our machines to the local gas station, grocery stores, Disneyland or amusement parks, and even hotels. At our Morrisville location we have about five or six "techs" which are technicians that can program and install our ATMs in the surrounding area. Us technicians always answer to two people, Mr. Tony Mercer and Mr. Jason Roth, they tell us what machines need to be programmed and shipped out where and by what date. While on the job as a technician I can do anything from maintenance of the machines, programming them, or even installations, as well as over the phone customer service when one of our customers is having a problem with an ATM that we have already installed. I worked with just about everyone in the office, some obviously more than others. With me being the new guy I am definitely the low man on the totem pole. But it doesn't really impact work a lot, my coworkers like to keep it at a level playing field.