I am a retired Navy Chief, so I imagine that I will come at these reflections and this internship with a certain, seasoned point of view. This is my first foray into the corporate environment, the only real environments I have known were the military and school. The company my internship is with is the Navy Exchange Service Command Headquarters in Virginia Beach. I am working in Department Code-I in the PC Lab, which is the Client Services Support Group. The best way to describe the position is like the Geek Squad from BestBuy.
My experience has been odd from the beginning, I finished orientation my midway through my first day and expected to be greeted by and shake hands with my supervisor. Instead, I was dropped off at the PC Lab and was informed that my supervisor almost exclusively works via Tele-work, so it is unlikely I would ever see him. There is also the matter of dress code, which I am no stranger to, I am used to wearing a military uniform, however I really did not understand what “Business Casual” entailed, and HR provided policy guidance, it seems there is a very loose understanding or interpretation of what “Business Casual” actually means.
My first week I mastered what is called Lifecycle replacement, that process is taking old outdated devices, for example a PC or Laptop and replacing it with a new device. Part of that process is taking the new device and “imaging” it. Imagining consists of making initial BIOS settings as applicable and then running an imaging script. This script applies all applicable specific setting for operating on the companies networks, and installs all the basic software and applications anyone might need. I completed this process on the backlog of new devices they had, totaling 39 new laptops, now ready for service.
To conclude, my first week was fraught with culture shock, but I did dive immediately into learning so that I can stand on my own. Starting a new job has a certain amount of embarrassment and awkwardness to it, as you really don’t know anything. It is not your fault either, it is like being introduced as a new character in season 5 of a television show, and you just need to establish yourself. I hope to continue to quickly learn, and apply my work ethic and seasoned experience into improving the PC Lab, just as I did with the backlog of Lifecycle devices.
Lifecycle/Imaging Station
