That passion led Phillips to MIT, where he discovered product design, and from there he landed a job as a designer for Milwaukee Tool, the nation’s largest supplier of cordless power tools.
Her time at this Wisconsin-based firm began through a one-month internship during her junior year, Independent Activity Period (IAP), as part of MIT’s micro-internship program. There she gained valuable experience working directly with and for MIT alumni.
“I worked in a high-level engineering group to develop accessories for electronic trading tools focused on improving the efficiency of common tasks that electrical engineers repeat throughout the day,” explains Phillips. To do. , obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Course 2-A. It was a customizable mechanical engineering track that allowed us to dive deep into product design.
She says the best thing about her January 2020 micro-internship was getting her hands on a prototype. What are the pain points of the site and the process? ”
“I love the feeling of holding something you’ve designed or made for the first time. That’s a big part of why I became an engineer.”
Rosalie Phillips ’21
Once Phillips understood what success looked like, he began brainstorming how to get there. “After she chose the best concept, she started iterating and problem-solving,” she says. “Milwaukee has great on-site rapid prototyping resources, and a day or two after designing a concept, you have a high-fidelity 3D print in hand to test everything from ergonomics to fit. It was a great hands-on experience surrounded by all the resources for prototyping, definitely an engineer’s playground.”
The success of the IAP internship prompted Phillips to sign on for a full internship at Milwaukee Tools in the summer of 2020 to work on a prototype carpentry power tool. Shortly thereafter, I received a full-time job offer. She joined the company in September 2021. One of her reasons she was drawn to her company was the structure of the product design cycle and the fact that each person owns a project rather than contributing to multiple large projects. .
“I love the feeling of holding something you’ve designed and built for the first time, and that’s a big part of why I became an engineer,” says Phillips. “I was amazed that I could bring something out of my brain into the world, excited to test it, curious to see if it would break, and already ready to build the next one. ”
Alumni Benefits
The concept of an IAP internship is not new. The MIT Alumni Association started her MIT Student/Alumni Outbound Program in 1997 as a way for alumni to accept student interns during her January semester. It was renamed the Micro-Internship Program during its revamp after transitioning to MIT Career Advising and Professional Development (CAPD) in 2020. The program still encourages MIT alumni to welcome undergraduate and graduate students to companies, but students now apply for positions not sponsored by alumni.
