One Day, One Internship » flight

Frontier Airlines

Willy Franzen — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:51:26 +0000

I just spent a wonderful Memorial Day weekend in Denver, CO, and now I’m sitting in the airport waiting for my flight back. I walked in to see a huge line for people checking bags, and I got a little discouraged. Luckily, I thought fast and checked in on my phone and went right to the bag drop area (with a short stop to fix a server problem that caused the site to be down earlier this morning) where there was no line. At some point during that process, I managed to get upgraded to a seat with more legroom. That also allowed me to check my bag for free and get the word “Plus” stamped on my boarding pass. I don’t know why Frontier Airlines is treating me so well since I booked the flight on a discount site, which usually means that I get stuck with a middle seat. Since Frontier is treating me so well for no good reason, I thought that I might as well see what kind of internships they have. It’s my first time flying Frontier, probably because I usually travel east of the Mississippi (and they fly mostly west of it as they’re currently headquartered in Denver, but allegedly moving to Indianapolis, IN), but I figure that you gotta love an airline that has a different wild animal on the tail of each of its aircraft. Frontier also apparently offers in-flight television in the seat backs, so maybe I’ll get some good daytime tv watching in during my flight.

A New Frontier

Despite the fact that Frontier Airlines is new to me, they happen to be the fastest growing major airline in the United States. They seem to keep adding new routes, and it looks like they take a very customer-friendly approach to flying. That seems to be the winning approach these days, as I try avoid the larger carriers if I can. My guess is that airlines that are nice to fly are also nice to intern for. So far everyone that I’ve encountered with Frontier has been extremely pleasant, but that could just be a Denver thing. Anyway, if you want to consider a career with Frontier, you should check out their Jobs page. They have a search function, and you can narrow it down to internships. They don’t have any openings posted right now, but it’s something to keep an eye on. And if you want a little more information on Frontier’s unpaid internship program, you can take a look at this CNN article from last year.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you flown Frontier?

Applied Physics Laboratory

Willy Franzen — Sat, 20 Mar 2010 15:53:41 +0000

This has nothing to do with physics, but yesterday was likely the greatest day in Cornell athletics history. I’m a happy guy. I’m also a guy who took AP Physics and found it extremely difficult. Despite the fact that our survival is based on having a basic understanding of physics (like knowing how a spear will fly when you throw it at a mammoth), most of us have basically no clue about the scientific side of physics. That’s not the case with the folks at The Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, MD. The APL is a division of Johns Hopkins University, and it’s “a not-for-profit center for engineering, research, and development.” The Laboratory’s work has a huge impact on the success of our nation—they work in areas like Air and Missile Defense, Homeland Protection, Biomedicine, and Civilian Space.

Apply Yourself at APL

To get a better feel for what The Applied Physics Laboratory does, you should take a look at some of their Sample Programs. It includes things like Space Threat Awareness and Characterization, Imaging Inside Buildings with Radar, and Effective Preparation of Biological Samples. If pore over these case studies, you’ll start to realize just how important the field of applied physics really is. Another thing that The Applied Physics Laboratory is known for is hiring the best and the brightest. They’re big on college recruiting, and they do have a major Summer internship program (they had 211 interns last summer). All of the positions are paid, and you can apply and learn more details here. The deadline for applications is March 31, 2010, so you have less than 2 weeks to get it together. Also make sure that you take a look at the projects that their inters from last year worked on.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Did you see the Cornell game?

Aircell

Willy Franzen — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:33:10 +0000

After a week of cold weather in Florida, I’m headed back to Chicago. Since I wanted to enjoy the last night of my vacation, I decided that I’d try to get this post to you from 31,000 feet. I’m flying on AirTran (maybe we’ll look at their internships another time), and all of their flights offer Gogo Inflight Wi-Fi, which is a service provided by Itasca, IL based AirCell (I used this promotion to get a free access coupon code). The business of Internet Service Providers was a big one in the 90s, but as we’ve become more accustomed to broadband, we’ve mostly started using major telecom companies to feed our Internet addictions. Now, the business opportunities are all about providing Internet access in locations with captive audiences—hotels, convention centers, airports, and now airplanes, although 3G card providers are offering some fierce competition. Luckily for Aircell, that’s not an option in the air, which means that, for now, Gogo has a dominant market position with their because of their FCC sanctioned rights to be the “exclusive provider of Wi-Fi communications to airlines, business aviation, military, government, and specialty aircraft across North America.”

Gogo Get an Internship

Who knows what the future of Gogo will be? It’s pretty obvious that Internet access will soon be expected on all but the smallest planes, but how will that play out? Will the FAA allow us to start using cellular devices so that we can use 3G or 4G cards? Will airlines continue to nickel and dime us (ok, we know the answer to that one)? Will we continue to pay for in-flight Internet access or will there be an ad supported option? There are a lot of questions to be answered, but it seems that Gogo is well positioned to take advantage of the current market opportunities. They received a significant venture capital investment, and their Jobs page seems to indicate that they’re continuing to grow. Additionally, Aircell isn’t a business solely based on Gogo; in fact, they’re much more. They are “the world’s leading provider of airborne communications.” That means that what they do goes well beyond allowing you to watch stupid YouTube videos on a cross-country flight. I couldn’t find any information on internships with Aircell, but that doesn’t mean that they don’t have any. One of the best ways to land great internships is to reach out to companies who aren’t advertising their positions. You’ll face less competition, and you may even be able to convince them to develop an internship tailored to your interests. To reach out to someone about internships at Aircell, e-mail recruiting@aircell.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever used wi-fi on a plane?

NetJets

Willy Franzen — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 15:44:30 +0000

If I ever make a ridiculous amount of money, the first thing that I’m going to do is buy a private jet—or at least a share in one. It seems like the ultimate way to travel. I’ve been on private planes before, but they had propellers and I was sitting next to or right behind the pilot (not nearly as classy). NetJets is a company that allows wealthy individuals and businesses to buy shares in private jets (since who really needs an entire jet to himself or herself?). They also have a subscription service called MarquisJet that lets you get a guaranteed number of hours of private jet use. It may not make private air travel affordable or cost effective, but it certainly puts it within reach for a lot more people. NetJets is by far the market leader, and they’re also a Berkshire Hathaway company. You know if Warren Buffett is investing in it, it has to be pretty good. NetJets is based in Columbus, OH, but quite obviously they operate all over the world.

Be a NetJetter

Even Warren Buffett thinks that private jet travel is a ridiculous luxury, but that didn’t stop him from becoming a customer and then buying the company when the time was right. The truth is that commercial airline travel is a pain in the butt, and many people will pay exorbitant costs to avoid it. Even if energy costs get continue to grow, you have to like the future of NetJets. Assuming that you aren’t morally opposed to private air travel, you should check out NetJets’s Careers page. They don’t have a specific internships section and there aren’t any internships posted with their job postings, but I did find a LinkedIn Group for current, former, and upcoming interns. Additionally, I found this PDF about their internship program. It says that the offer opportunities in Sales, Marketing, Crew Support, Flight Operations, Contracts, Employee Services (Talent Acquisition, Compensation & Benefits, Labor & Employee Relations), Safety, Training & Standards, Compliance, and Crew Resource Planning. There’s no word on whether the positions are paid, and there are no instructions on how to apply, so I recommend that you reach out to recruiting@netjets.com with any questions.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you ever flown on a NetJet?

SpaceX

Willy Franzen — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 15:43:18 +0000

You may have heard that NASA just had what was probably the final night launch of the space shuttle. I was lucky enough to see one a few years ago from a beach in Connecticut, although it didn’t look like much more than a bright light screaming through the night sky. Our space program is going through a lot of changes, and it seems that current funding for some future programs isn’t what the people at NASA were hoping for. Many fans of the space program are disappointed and pessimistic about the future of space exploration. Luckily, the past decade has led to the rise of private space companies that are taking up a lot of the slack when it comes to space flight. One of these companies is Hawthorne, CA based SpaceX, which was started by PayPal co-founder Elon Musk in 2002. Their focus is on building launch vehicles (mostly for satellites) that are not only more reliable, but also more affordable.

InternshipX

SpaceX has been growing like crazy—in late 2005 they had 160 employees, and now they employ more than 800 people. Not only has SpaceX grown at an impressive rate up to this point, but they seem to be continuing their growth. Their Jobs page shows more than 70 open positions including internships and co-ops. As long as the government keeps cutting its funding for space program, the private aerospace industry is going to keep booming. SpaceX is well positioned as they already have a track record of success—they were the first private company to develop a launch vehicle and reach earth orbit from the ground. If that sounds like something that you want to be part of, then you should check out careers at SpaceX—they even have opportunities for people who don’t have a background in aerospace, although most are in engineering. Specific internship areas include Avionics, Business Development, Launch Engineering, Propulsion, and Structures. All of the positions are paid and can be taken as co-ops or internships. You can apply online for any of these positions, and you should also take note of the following:

Since the people we seek tend to be highly sought after, SpaceX offers up to a $5000 referral award to anyone who refers a candidate we hire.

If you end up applying for a job at SpaceX, please let them know that you found about them from One Day, One Internship.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What do you think about the private aerospace industry?

Insitu

Willy Franzen — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 15:13:26 +0000

Not too long ago, the only unmanned aerial vehicles were planes flown by women (yuck, yuck, yuck). Now we live in a world where planes can fly themselves. Sometimes I like to consider myself high-tech for running a business on the web, then I think about the companies that design, develop, and produce autonomous aircraft and realize that I’m not high-tech at all. Bingen, Washington’s Insitu is one of those companies. They build UAVs that have amazing reconnaissance, communications relay, and geophysical surveying capabilities. Most of their work has been with the military so far, but Insitu is operating in an infant industry with an amazing potential for growth. In fact, from 2004-2007 Insitu’s revenue grew by 1,702.4% to $50 million annually. This performance put them on Inc. Magazine’s List of the 500 Fastest Growing Private Companies in 2006 and 2007. Insitu CEO Steve Sliwa was also named CEO of the Year for 2007 by Seattle Business Monthly. Insitu is clearly comfortable with taking off.

Unmanned Internships

Beyond the cool factor of what Insitu does, their corporate culture is also impressive. They describe themselves as “a lifestyle company with innovative and creative employees who pour as much into their personal lives as they do into their work at the office.” Insitu has a “business comfortable” dress code and is dog friendly. There is also a heavy emphasis on “Living in the Gorge” – meaning the Columbia River gorge, which offers extraordinary outdoor opportunities. You can go kite surfing, mountain climbing, steelhead fishing, or snowboarding with just a short drive. There is even a list of nearby activities on the Insitu website. The way Insitu treats its people has to be part of their amazing success.

So, what about internships? Right now Insitu is recruiting for Fall 2009 Interns and Summer 2010 Interns. Their internship offerings for both fall and summer range all over the place. They have opportunities in: Engineering (Avionics, Software, Product Development and Propulsion), Marketing, Human Resources, Production, Supply Chain, Flight Operations, Technical Writing, Accounting/Finance, Legal, Facilities, Flight Training, Material Management, Quality Control, IT, and Business Development. All internships with Insitu are paid, and you can apply for them online. Get yourself off of autopilot, and apply for an internship with Insitu now.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Are you as impressed by UAVs as I am?

Space Adventures

Willy Franzen — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 14:48:23 +0000

I like adventures. I enjoy heading into the woods and going fishing or, perhaps, going skiing for a weekend when I’ve never skied before (please don’t let me hurt myself); however, I’m not sure that going into space is for me. Yes, it would be really cool, but I have to admit that it would make me a little nervous. I also can’t afford a trip to space. Maybe in the future traveling to space will be as normal as flying in airplanes and it’ll cost just about as much too, but until then you’ll have to rely on companies like Space Adventures to get you to space. They are a Vienna, VA based company that claims to be the “only company currently providing opportunities for actual private spaceflight and space tourism today.” I’m sure it’s not cheap, but if you have the cash, they can put you in space.

Internship Adventures

Now, you’re probably skeptical of Space Adventures. The whole premise sounds a little suspect. Space tourism? Really? Well, check out their list of Advisors and Board Members – they’ve got Buzz Aldrin (the second person to step foot on the moon) and a whole bunch of other astronauts. They also offer paid internships (which is another good sign of legitimacy). Although it’s not listed on their Careers page, they’re currently looking for a Marketing Intern. The internship is posted in a few places on the Internet in the form of a press release. They’re looking for someone who can do research on individuals and companies who might be interested in ZERO-G, e-mail blasts and direct mailing, and material design and production (Flyers, Brochures, and Presentations). The internship runs from mid-May to mid-Augsut and pays between $14 and $21 an hour. The application deadline is March 7, 2009, and you can apply by sending a cover letter and resume to jobs@spaceadventures.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Would you ever take a trip into space?

Southwest Airlines

Willy Franzen — Wed, 17 Sep 2008 13:38:13 +0000

Periodically the news is riddled with stories about how the airlines are teetering on the brink of bankruptcy. Lately the focus of doom and gloom commentary has shifted to finance and insurance companies, but that doesn’t mean that the airlines are doing any better. There’s one company that is seemingly never in the conversation about struggling airlines – Southwest Airlines. If you’ve ever flown Southwest, you probably know why. They do things differently, and it makes flyers happy. Even though it seems like almost no one can succeed flying commercial routes, Southwest continues to impress. Air travel isn’t going anywhere – it’s too important to us, so forget about all the bad things that you hear about the airline industry, and start thinking about an internship at Southwest Airlines.

Book an Internship at Southwest

Honestly, I’ve never heard of a company cited in more case studies than Southwest is. When I was studying Human Resources in college, I swear that I heard about Southwest’s corporate culture every week. It must make the CEOs of other airlines sick to their stomachs. Just look at the honors Southwest has received recently:

Ranked 12th on Fortune’s “Most Admired” list in 2007
Made Forbes “Platinum List” in 2007
Ranked by Business Week as one of the top “50 Best Places to Launch a Career”
“Most Admired Companies Among Women” by Professional Womens Magazine in 2006
“100 Best Corporate Citizens” by Business Ethics magazine for eight years in a row
“Corporate 100” by HISPANIC magazine since 2000
Included in the “Top 100 Most Innovative Technology Organizations” by InformationWeek in July 2007

And in case you aren’t already dreaming about working for Southwest, they also offer “FREE UNLIMITED space-available travel anywhere Southwest Airlines flies,” casual dress, and social events for and including interns. Oh yeah, and the internships are paid. You can find out more on their Internships page, which is part of a really informative, but simple and easy to navigate Careers site.

Southwest is already “booking” for Spring internships, and the deadlines are coming up fast. It’s not surprising that they have demand this far in advance. Some of the internships have application deadlines of 9/19/08, which is Friday, while others have deadlines of 10/1/08. They currently have 33 internships listed, and 30 of them are located at their headquarters in Dallas, TX (the others are in Chicago, IL; Nashville, TN; and Houston, TX).

We’re not going to link to every single internship at Southwest Airlines – you can find them all here, but here’s a list of areas that you can intern in: Occupational Safety, Marketing, People & Leadership Development, Internal Customer Care, Public Relations, Meteorology, Operational Safety, Purchasing, Maintenance Engineering, Materials Purchasing, Material Services, Product Development, Corporate Sales, Online Marketing, Promotions, Advertising, Flight Operations, Publications, Internal Audit, Legislative Communications, Charitable Giving, Community Relations, Dispatch, Culture Services, Standards an Regulatory Compliance, Ground Operations, and Emergency Programs. Wow.

Applying online for these internships is easy, so get to them before the deadlines pass. Thanks to Rob, a former Southwest intern, for tipping us off on these internships. He said that he’ll be willing to answer any questions about internships at Southwest Airlines in the comments, so fire away.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Have you flown Southwest? Did you LUV it?

Masten Space Systems

Willy Franzen — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:58:58 +0000

“Just gas ‘em up and go!” – not the slogan that you’d expect to hear from an aerospace company, but that’s exactly how easy Masten Space Systems would like space travel to be. Masten Space Systems is a startup that is working on “developing a line of Vertical Takeoff and Vertical Landing (VTVL) launch vehicles.” You may have heard of Masten before, as they are also know for offering to launch your junk into space for a reasonable fee. Masten Space Systems wants to create rocket vehicles that are reliable and reusable, and they need Fall interns to help them do this.

Vertical Takeoff for Your Career

<div><a href='http://www.omnisio.com'>Share and annotate your videos</a> with Omnisio!</div> <p>

Masten Space Systems’ CFO and VP of Business Development, Michael Mealling, recently did a pitch at Startup Riot and posted the video presentation on the Masten blog. We’ve posted the video above since it is the best way for you to get familiar with the company.

Masten Space Systems has a very small team, so they’ve been putting interns to work on really exciting projects. For instance Melissa Schaffer, one of two Summer interns has been working on a model of Masten Space Systems’ XA-0.2’s landing gear and Wayne Neumaier, the other Summer intern, has been working on the rocket test trailer and the igniter testing. Interns at Masten Space Systems actually contribute in tangible ways to major projects. Masten is looking for 2 interns to work on similar projects this Fall. If you have knowledge or experience relevant to mechanical assembly (especially of pressurized systems), machine shop skills, and working with tools to make things out of metal or composites; running experiments, recording data, and figuring out what the data means; installing and wiring an electrical system (possibly including radio controls or computer programming); or Labview, Solidworks, and/or Matlab, then Masten definitely wants to hear from you.

Internships at Masten are very flexible depending on your skill set, so don’t be discouraged if you’re not an aerospace engineer (they also need help with electrical, mechatronics, software, and mechanical engineering). All of the details of what Masten is looking for can be found on their original posting about Summer internships as it still applies for their Fall internships. You need to hurry because Masten Space Systems is only accepting resumes until Augsut 3rd, as they want their interns to start the 3 month program by late August or early September. If you’re interested in interning with Masten Space Systems in Mojave, CA, fill out an employment application and attach it with a resume and cover letter in an e-mail to internships@masten-space.com.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

Know anything about Masten Space Systems? Leave a comment.

jetBlue Airways

Willy Franzen — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 13:39:52 +0000

Whenever I fly somewhere, my first instinct is to check if jetBlue Airways is an option. Why would anyone ever pick anything else? They have friendly crew members, delicious snacks, more leg room, televisions in the back of the seats, and often cheaper fares. They even have a Customer Bill of Rights that ensures great service. Why is this relevant to internships? Because companies that put out great products or services often make the best places to work. If you’re fascinated by the airline industry, then what could be better than an internship with jetBlue?

No TVs at Your Desks?

We can’t guarantee that working at jetBlue will be as good as flying with them, but it should be close. The best way to find and apply for internships at jetBlue is to use their job search function and search for the word intern (not internship).

Right now, jetBlue has 4 internships posted on their site, 3 of which are located in their Forest Hills, NY office. These are in Engineering, Airport Resource and Planning, and CollegeCrew (which seems like a more generalized internship). There’s also a Marketing internship with jetBlue in Long Beach, CA. The Engineering and Airport Resource and Planning internships were originally posted in January, so they may no longer be hiring for these – we really can’t tell. The other two internships were posted more recently, and should still be available. The descriptions for these internships are pretty dry, but they do identify what kind of work they have for their interns. All of them look quite interesting, and should give interns a great sense of what working in the airline industry is like.

Use the links below to do a little more research on jetBlue and find the right internship for you.

Links to Help You Begin Your Research

What’s your favorite part of flying jetBlue? Leave a comment and let us know.