<p>I am currently part of an Internship Program for the Summer for a GREAT company. I am also a student in my Junior/Senior year majoring in computer Science. Like most students, I am looking to keep my "job" after the Summer internship ends. My title is IT Intern. I work in the Information Technology department. My work at this company has a wide range from facility work, to hardware repairs, to troubleshooting software bugs. I plan to complete some sort of project for the company by the time Summer ends to hopefully impress them and force myself into consideration for a permanent position. The only problem is, an IT Intern is not a common internship position and I can't think of any projects I can work on since most of IT work comes from problems that people have. Do you guys have any ideas? Maybe you can help me brainstorm. Thanks!</p>
<p>Bill Gates once said that he likes to hire the laziest people he can find because they know how to get the job done with the least amount of effort. Channel that mentality and try to find a place where you can make an incremental improvement.</p>
<p>For example, if you are handling issues, does your department have a streamlined system to track and respond to problems? If someone tells your coworker he has a problem with his laptop, but your coworker is sick, is there a system in place to reroute that issue to you or someone else? Is there a centralized place to escalate issues, or do you just use email? </p>
<p>Think about what is reasonable as a 20% project - if you are paid to work 40 hours a week, try to do your regular duties in 32 and spend the remaining 8 on your project. With a 12 week summer, take a couple of weeks to identify problems, then take the next to brainstorm solutions. With the remaining time, put the plan into action. All the while, talk to someone about what you want to do just in case it has already been done and you didn’t know about it. When it comes to doing things, it is always better to ask for forgiveness than to ask for permission - by doing a side project, the worst that happens is that you show yourself to be an innovator, and the best that happens is that you come up with a way to improve the company in a meaningful way. </p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you chrisw. That is a great answer. Unfortunately we do have a ticketing system already in place to deal with the different issues people have. It actually does a lot more but I am not going to go into it all now. However, the points and ideas you mentioned earlier are very helpful. You have the right mindset for coming up with ideas. Thanks for your input!</p>