Advice for Sophomore - MIT

OperaDad
Mon, 06 May 2013 10:18:40 +0000

First Robotics is not a summer thing. There is pre-season in the fall, and Build Season is Jan - March.

[Welcome to the FIRST Robotics Competition | USFIRST.org](http://www.usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/frc)

Yes, it seems like the reinvent the wheel each year. And, a lot of programming is learning the basics. But, that is why there is a team. Let the rest of the programmers figure out the basics. You can focus on figuring out Vision. This year, there were two main purposes for vision: Autonomous driving - driving to a Frisbee, picking it up, and shooting; and Shooting (autonomous and operator modes): Targeting, aiming, distance, shooting.

Vision processing is not a trivial problem for a team that has never done it before. How do you discern the targets from the mass of pixels?

If your HS does not have a team, find another local team and ask if you can join.

Don’t set your sights too high on an internship. Just be happy to get one. I would suggest:

1. Identify potential companies

2. Identify the groups within the companies that do what you are interested in

3. Identify managers in the groups

4. Attempt to “network” with those people. The “purpose” is to find out about careers related to you areas of interest. Not to ask for a job.

5. During your contact with the person, ask if there are other people he can suggest you talk to to find out more about careers.

6. After you have talked with the person, send a letter thanking them for their time, and mention you would be happy to be an unpaid intern to help with special projects.

Separately: Contact the Human Resources department and find out if the company offers internships.

If there are colleges/universities, similar process, but contact the professors. There, you can be more direct. They are used to dealing with students. You do want to find out about careers, and also ask if there is research you could help with.