Basic Information
- Name Vedang Gupta
- Curriculum: Electrical Engineering Dual Degree
- Year of Study: 4th
- Company/University of Internship: Texas Instruments
- Year of Internship (eg. ‘23 Summers, ‘22 Winters): ‘23 Summers
- Mode of Internship (Online/Offline/Hybrid): Offline
- Duration of Internship: 9 weeks/2 months
Getting into the Internship:
What resources did you utilize to prepare for the tests/interviews?
I revised the material covered in our electrical core courses for the tests and interview. Most questions could be solved using the basic knowledge of MOSFETs, OPAMPs, etc. The questions in the tests involved a lot of calculation of the parameters of the circuit like gain, input and output resistance, etc. I would say if you are clear with these concepts, the tests shouldn’t be too difficult.
Can you elaborate on your interview and the type of questions which were asked?
The interview is mostly technical and they primarily want to test your problem solving skills and conceptual understanding. My interview started off simple with just a RC circuit and built up to a more complex circuit by adding components around them and the interviewer asked me how the output changed at every stage. The interviewer would nudge me in the right direction with hints if I tended towards the wrong answer. I would say as long as you are clear with your concepts and can pick up the hints that the interviewer drops, that’s what they are looking for and the interview should be a fun and interesting experience.
During the internship:
What was your specific profile or project topic during the internship?
My internship profile is Analog Design Engineer at Texas Instruments. I am working on improvements to two of the components of the IC (integrated circuit) that my team (IdealDiodes) is currently working on. The improvements should be incorporated into the next stage of their design process.
How would you describe your overall experience as an intern?
The internship at TI is a very fun and fulfilling experience. I am thankful that I got the role as a Design Engineer because that is a challenging and rewarding task. I have a learnt a lot more about analog circuits than before in this brief amount of time. I also got exposure to industry process, tools and software. As an Analog Design Engineer you have to consider a lot of aspects to the problem (e.g., layout considerations, effect of mismatch, etc.) that are important to your design which make it quite challenging but also fulfilling. My mentor was very helpful and guided me well throughout this process giving me good guidance and pointed me to relevant learning resources whenever needed. The internship is quite flexible and gives a lot of freedom in how you wish to work. A lot of my friends at TI (but in different profiles) also had the option to work from home. The thing I liked most about the internship is how they didn’t hesitate to include me in the core design process and did not just give me menial tasks.
Could you provide insights into the organizational culture of the company/university and what your peers were like?
The teams at TI are quite organized and most of their employees in my experience are very hard working. There are frequent meetings and the process is quite collaborative while giving individual freedom. Due to the above they do expect a certain amount of hard work from you and getting work done on time. A lot of people work from home a lot of the time and there are often hybrid meetings. I observed my mentor working late some times due to deadlines but I think that’s common in a lot of work cultures but might be worth considering for some. As an intern I was never forced to stay late or work late but I did do that sometimes. The members of my team and other peers are quite smart and productive. They were very nice and inclusive of me and it was a overall positive work experience.
After the internship:
Based on your experience, would you recommend this internship to others interested in the same field? If so, what aspects make it worth recommending? If not, what factors influenced your perspective?
I would definitely recommend interning for Analog at TI. TI is primarily a analog engineering company and one of the best in the world at that (so it’s definitely a good resume point ;) ). This leads to you contributing to quite important products giving you relevant industry experience and a whole lot of learning. The office culture is inclusive and productive, the food is great (but not free), there are nice amenities like sports courts, cultural clubs and a gym. The mentors are responsive and helpful. Some mightfind the stipend less appealing but the learning, flexibility, perks and fulfilling work definitely makes up for it for anyone looking to work in analog.