Adding Value as an Intern and Transitioning to Full-Time Employee

By Dhanashri Kanitkar, Data Scientist
My data science internship at Diodes Incorporated’s (Diodes) Plano headquarters was a transformative experience which taught me invaluable lessons, pushed me beyond my academic knowledge, and set the stage for my joining of the company full time.
I completed my Bachelor of Science in Applied Statistics and Analytics from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, and my Master of Science in Business Analytics from The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD). Upon completion of my master’s degree, I began my data science internship at Diodes in the Supply Chain department. My responsibilities focused on understanding, cleaning, and analyzing generated data, as well as building models.
Having seen data in an academic setting, working with real-world, complex data in this new and high-level environment was a completely new experience. From understanding the multiple procedures when collaborating between different cultures in multiple time zones, the learning scope of the internship was vast.
My perspective on my career path was enriched and improved by the varied projects I managed, which developed my own approach to real-world data science models. Other projects helped me understand the semiconductor manufacturing process and the importance of diverse data in the company’s decision-making.
Many projects that I had the opportunity to be involved with also added immediate, tangible value to the organization, including developing an aliasing algorithm to deduplicate vendor and customer names, designing an ETL pipeline for efficient data extraction, and creating a purchase order universe to streamline data integration and dashboarding. These initiatives not only improved data accuracy and accessibility but also contributed to enhanced decision-making and reporting processes.
I feel blessed for taking on this internship and for the opportunity to develop my knowledge curve. For the benefit of my future career goals, my internship with Diodes has given me these three takeaways:
Data quality is undeniably important
- Decisions are primarily driven by data. If the data is inaccurate or incomplete, it can significantly impact decision-making. Ensuring data quality is crucial for maintaining smooth operations.
Understanding the workflow helps resolve issues
- Workflow understanding allows for identifying and correcting any faulty logic, ensuring accurate outputs.
Tracking issues and solutions smooths future activity
- Tracking helps enhance models and prevents the recurrence of similar problems. Each issue provides an opportunity to learn and refine the process.
At the conclusion of my internship, my supervisor approached me and said that based on my work as an intern, the company would like me to join full time. This was a great conclusion to my internship and one for which I’m truly grateful.
I encourage all university students to explore internships during their academic careers, as well as after. It’s a valuable way to deepen classroom learning and, in a best-case scenario, segue into a full-time role.
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