Co-op at JCI / Visteon
Chris
Experience Information
Employer: Johnson Controls Inc/ Visteon Corp
Job Title: Engineering Services - Test Development Co-op
Major: Electrical Engineering
Received Credit: Yes
Paid: Yes
Abroad: No
Description of the Organization
I started out working for Johnson Controls Inc in the Electronics Business Unit group of Automotive Experience. JCI was in the process of being bought out by Visteon Corp. On July 1, we transitioned to Visteon Corp and became a part of their electronics team. Visteon's electronic business is now a cockpit electronics ecosystems enterprise with more than $3 billion in annual sales and one of the world's three largest vehicle cockpit electronics suppliers.
Description of the Tasks/Projects Completed
Performed numerous tests on a Model Year 16 Head-Up Display. Wrote multiple programs for testing interfaces and some smaller programs to perform calculations. Made a printed circuit board (PCB) for splitting video between a source and the HUD. Participated in testing on a Model Year 14 instrument cluster. Designed an interface to run a Display Color Analyzer remotely.
Skills/Knowledge Gained Through The Experience
Creating user interfaces for running test equipment. Learned some PCB layout and design. Learned serial communication with RS-232. Creating Block diagrams and schematics. Programming with National Instrument's LabWindows/CVI(c programming) and LabVIEW. Brief exposure to analog and digital video signals.
Favorite Part of the Experience
My favorite part of this co-op was probably working on the HUD program. A lot of the things I did were great learning experiences and being able to visually see the progress of a program was cool. Another favorite part of my co-op was being able to drive a 2014 Corvette for over 24 hours for testing purposes. That was a lot of fun.
How the Experience Influenced Future Career Goals
Being able to co-op is a great way to gain actual work experience in your field of interest. Just obtaining your degree without getting experience in the "real world" can make getting a job very difficult and when you do get a job you could realize that it's not the type of field you wanted to work in. This co-op experience has helped me understand a little bit more of how an engineering company operates from the inside and has confirmed my interest in becoming an Electrical Engineer.