Example Of Feasibility Report: Internship In Computer Engineering Report

MEMORANDUM

FOR: ProfessorFROM: Client’s Name DATE: Month Day, YearSUBJECT: Feasibility Report- Internship in Computer Engineering
Introduction
I am currently on my junior year in Computer Engineering at the University of Houston. I look forward to graduating on December 2016 and perhaps, a Masters degree in Computer Science after a couple of years. My father influenced me to pursue engineering seeing that I have inclination in mathematics. But being born in the era of digital age, my passion has always been on computers and robotics. Hence, I chose the degree in Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering. I understand that while the prospects for this career are bright, the job market remains competitive. An internship in one of the prominent technology companies would be beneficial in giving me an advantage by the time I finish my studies and I am ready to work. I am presently considering these companies for my internship: Hewlett Packard (HP), Google or Microsoft.

Alternatives

The following companies are my preferences for my internship:
Hewlett Packard (HP). HP has an office in Houston, located at 11445 Compaq Center West Dr., TX 77070. Its Graduate and Internship Programs include Engineering, Information Technology and Services, Sales and Marketing, Business, Supply Chains and Human Resources. Under its Engineering Program, various opportunities are open to be explored, ranging from electrical engineering, network engineering to systems software engineering (Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P., 2015).
Google. Google Austin is based in 9606 North MoPac Expressway, Suite 110, Austin TX 78759. It has the following teams in this office--Sales, Product and Customer Support, People Operations and Developer Relations and Technical Solutions given that its focus is more sales and marketing (Google, 2015).
Microsoft. Microsoft Corp. has several offices in key Texas cities, namely Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio. In its website page on careers, it was noted that Microsoft offers programs for undergraduate students in Computer Science or Computer Engineering to enable them explore software development. Students will have the opportunity to be rotated to gain experience in various engineering roles (Microsoft, 2015). Moreover, it was noted that Microsoft plays a key role in Texas State’s IT modernization strategy to improve communications system throughout its key departments (Microsoft, 2013).

Criteria

In choosing which will be the best company to pursue my internship, the following criteria were set:
Criteria #1- Location: Location of the office is more important to me than salary or allowance given that my ultimate objective is to gain more knowledge and actual field experience. Proximity to my family’s residence in 14504 Briar Forest, Houston, TX, 77077 would help me greatly as I can drive to and from work, and save on living expenses in terms of rent and meals.
Criteria #2- Opportunity to learn and apply my university education: This is the most important aspect for me since my ultimate objective is to have a related experience and edge in computer engineering. It is not enough that I gain a job experience in a reputable IT company, I also want to earn some credits for being exposed to my field of specialization. This will also help give me ideas where I could further my interest when I pursue my Masters degree in the future.
Criteria #3- Cost of Living: The cost of living of the area where I will take my internship also weighs in on my decision as I would also like to minimize the burden of additional cost to my parents who are financing my undergraduate education. I am hoping that they do not have to supplement my allowance as an intern should it be minimal.

Method of Research

Evaluation
In evaluating my options, I placed the following weights on the criteria I have set. The target company for internship with the highest score would determine my choice.
5.1 Criteria #1-Location: All the office locations of the three target companies were searched in Google maps to determine how far they are from my current residential address.
Option 1: Hewlett Packard Location: Located at 11445 Compaq Center West Dr., TX 77070, this office is 26.2 miles from my residence and would take about 30 to 38-minute drive.
Option 2: Google Location: 9606 North MoPac Expressway, Suite 110, Austin TX 78759. This is about 156 miles away from my home and would take me 2 hours and 38 minutes to drive.

Option 3: Microsoft has four offices in Texas, located in Dallas, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio.

Irving, Dallas: With address at 7000 SR-161 (George Bush Turnpike), Irving, TX 75039, this is the farthest with a distance of 265 miles from our residence and about 4 hours drive.
Austin: 10900 Stonelake Blvd., Suite 22, Austin, TX 78759. This is 157 miles from home and would take about 2 hours and 26 minutes to drive.
San Antonio: Concord Park II, 401 East Sonterra Boulevard, Suite 300, San Antonio, Texas 78258. This address is 184 miles away and would take 2 hours and 41 minutes to drive.
Houston: One Briar Lake Plaza, 2000 W. Sam Houston Pkwy. S. #350, Houston, TX 77042. This is the closest of the four locations with a distance of only 5.3 miles from my residence and would only take 14 minutes to drive.
Given these locations and their respective distances from my current residence in Houston, the table below summarizes the scores allotted for HP, Google and Microsoft for Criteria #1-regarding location. The nearer the office is to my address in Houston, the more weight I put in to aid in my decision-making. The results favor Microsoft being the closest and most convenient for commuting.

Criteria #2- Opportunity to learn and apply my education

Based on the rationale provided in each of the following options, respective score under this criterion was reflected beside the target company’s name.
Option #1: HP= 40%
It was noted that HP has graduate programs and internships with a specific pathway for engineering, namely: electrical engineering, computer engineering, and computer science. These are fields that I am keen on. The prerequisite for internship is only at least one year in college education in the related field. As a company, it takes pride of its awards as an employer of choice, such as: “One of the Top 10 Companies with the Happiest Young Professionals” (Forbes), “Top 8 of the 50 Employer’s List” (Woman’s Engineer Magazine), and “One of the Top 50 Organizations for Multicultural Business Opportunities” (Top 50 Organizations for Diversity). It also earned 8 awards for its HP Learning and Development that achieved results (Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. , 2015).
Option #2: Google= 30%
Although Google is known for enabling and promoting its employees to “Do cool things that matter,” its Google Austin office is mainly focused on sales, marketing and staffing. The technical office team in the office is primarily for sales support and not so much on innovation (Google, 2015). Although sales and marketing are interesting areas to learn about, it would throw me off my path of computer engineering.
Option #3: Microsoft = 50%
Like HP, Microsoft also has a program aimed to help undergraduate students to get a good start in their field or career that could be an advantage later on when they finish their course. One program that attracted me specifically is its 12-week summer internship designed especially for college students interested in gaining experience in software engineering. The program provides exposure in different tools and programming languages used in software development. Aside from learning on-the-job, Microsoft links students to in-house mentors, community building, and networking opportunities. Another area that caught my interest in Microsoft is its tie up with Texas Department of Information Resources for the state’s IT modernization strategy—one area that I would be keen in participating into (Microsoft (2015).
5.3 Criteria #3- Cost of Living
Numbeo website revealed several indicators to gauge cost of living in the cities where the target companies for internship are located. For simplicity I chose average price of meals in inexpensive restaurant and transportation as proxies to cost of living since these will most likely be the bulk of my expenses if I continue to live with my parents while on internship. The result is summarized in the table below (Numbeo, 2015). The higher the cost of living, the lower is the score allotted.
Average meals in all the cities where the target companies are located are the same at about $12/meal. However, Austin’s public transportation is the cheapest which earned Google the highest score in this criterion, compared to HP and Microsoft.

Conclusion

The table below summarizes the results of the evaluation of each option for internship based on the identified criteria. It shows that of the three target companies for my internship, Microsoft scored the highest with 95%. This is followed by HP at 85%, and lastly by Google with a score of 70%.
These scores should not be misinterpreted as a ranking of the companies from best to worst. Rather, the ranking is merely based on the fit of the companies to my interest, objectives and current situation which is how the criteria were designed with regards to my plan to pursue internship.

Recommendation

Although the location and cost of living criteria were critical for my consideration, since all the companies have offices in Texas, these factors did not differentiate the companies that much. The main tie-breaker is the Criteria #2 which is about where I could have better opportunity to learn and apply my education.
Even though Google is known as a great company to work for, unfortunately, its Austin office is more into sales and marketing, than engineering innovation. On the other hand, although HP boasts as an employer of choice, it seems to be concentrated on hardware engineering. Meanwhile, Microsoft provides broader exposure, not only in computer engineering, but also in terms of mentorship and potential exposure to its engagement in Texas states IT modernization.
Given these results, I am more decided to aggressively pursue my application for internship in Microsoft. I look forward to gaining hands-on experience in their program designed specifically for computer engineering. It is my hope that this exposure and experience will jump-start my actual job search when I finish my course on December 2016.

REFERENCE

Google (2015) Google Austin and Google Maps. Retrieved from
https://www.google.ca/about/careers/locations/austin/ and https://www.google.com/
Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. (2015). HP Careers and Office Locations United
States. Retrieved from http://www8.hp.com/us/en/contact-hp/office-locations.html
Microsoft (2015). State of Texas to Improve Communication and Collaboration by Adopting
Office 365 for More Than 100,000 State Employees. Retrieved from http://news.microsoft.com/2013/02/15/state-of-texas-to-improve-communication-and-collaboration-by-adopting-office-365-for-more-than-100000-state-employees/
Microsoft (2015). University Careers. Retrieved from
http://careers.microsoft.com/careers/en/us/collegehome.aspx
Numbeo (2015) Cost of Living in Houston, TX, United States, Prices in Houston, TX. Retrieved