Starting Strong: Ansys Celebrates Today’s Interns, Tomorrow’s Leaders 

Approximately 300,000 people intern each year in the United States alone. Still, despite their popularity, internships haven’t always evoked feelings of job satisfaction. Historically, people have associated internships with unexciting, unpaid roles involving tasks that provide limited stimulation or engagement. However, companies are redefining internships increasingly each year by adding impactful responsibilities and incentive. Today, interns are more commonly involved in projects, meetings, and even decision-making, sharing space with higher-ups and senior-level employees.

National Intern Day generates enthusiasm around this subject by encouraging employers to celebrate — and thank — their interns. Started by the WayUp online job site, National Intern Day aims to bring attention to the challenges and inequalities faced by interns and entry-level candidates, motivating employers to invest more in their internship programs and interns. It is observed annually in the U.S. on the last Thursday in July. To celebrate this year, join us in spotlighting some of the Ansys interns who inspire us every day with their creativity, passion, and fresh insights.

Expanding Skill Sets

Internships are beneficial for any student hoping to learn more about a particular area. But even if a student is unsure of which field to pursue, internships provide valuable exposure to a wide range of options, interests, and skills.

Take Josiah Campbell, for example. Campbell is an aerospace engineering student at Purdue University who has worked as a sales development intern at Ansys headquarters in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania since May. He begins his senior year this fall.

“I’m interested in both field engineering and sales,” he says. “Regardless of if I go into the field or into sales, the experience I gained at Ansys will be invaluable because it will show me how to lead customer discussions with the incentive of creating a purchase or expanding more business. I think every engineer should do a sales rotation for this reason.”

Campbell’s internship introduced him to the sales process, including direct experience with cold-call campaigns, new lead generation for current accounts, qualifying leads with account managers, and ordering. Additionally, he has gained experience using Salesforce, Siebel, ZoomInfo, LinkedIn Sales Navigator, and other selling software. 

Conversely, some interns work in areas more directly aligned with their academic track to broaden their knowledge. Graduate student Sarab Boussouar studies high-performance computing (HPC) and simulation at ENS Paris-Saclay and has interned with the Ansys Mechanical team in Lyon, France since April. Previously as an undergraduate, she studied information systems.

Currently, as part of a pre-project study, Boussouar works closely with the Python package PyGeometry and Ansys Mechanical Parametric Design Language (MAPDL), a scripting language that automates simulation tasks and streamlines workflows. In other applications, Boussouar also uses Ansys SpaceClaim 3D computer-aided design (CAD) modeling software.

“I chose my current master’s degree to improve my technical skills, especially, and to learn some new, advanced development expertise,” she says. “My goal at Ansys is to learn and develop myself for future roles, even if not precisely in engineering.”

Support, Learning, and Laughs

Ansys is dedicated to fostering an inclusive environment for both interns and employees. Along with hands-on learning, internships provide students with opportunities for team-building, collaboration, and fun activities. 

“I’m proud I got the chance to have my internship here at Ansys and work with such lovely people,” says Boussouar. “From my manager to fellow interns, I literally felt there is no difference between people here, and that’s a huge and precious achievement for any company.”

The Impact of Internships

In the U.S., approximately 70% of interns are given a job offer at the same company they interned with after completing their training period. Also, students with internship experience are 35% more likely to get a job offer after graduation than those without internship experience.

Ansys welcomes more than 250 interns each year and remains grateful for their hard work, dedication, and continuing contributions to the success of the company.

To learn more about Ansys’ internship opportunities, browse current openings here.