ExxonMobil Internships

ExxonMobil has been nothing but a tremendous help in my relocation process. I was reimbursed for all relocation expenses (mileage, meals, hotels, shipping of personal items, etc.) and I opted for corporate housing down in Virginia at an apartment complex with other interns just right across the street from the Fairfax facility. My apartment was completely furnished with 2 floors, 2 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, kitchen, living room, laundry room, and 6 closets! I shared my apartment with another intern from Rice University in Houston, TX and she and I got along fantastically. Being within close proximity of the office was very comfortable, as I walked only 5 minutes to/from work everyday.

My internship experience was about 10 weeks long in the ExxonMobil Research & Engineering company (1 of 4 companies in the entire ExxonMobil corporation in Fairfax), and I was given 2 projects to complete for the summer:

1. My first short-term project was providing technical support for the ExxonMobil Fuels Marketing Demand Forecasting Tool (a software designed by ExxonMobil to predict demand of products for retail based in Microsoft Access and Excel). As an engineer-in-training, I had to whip out my programming skills, familiarize myself with VBA (visual basic for applications), and utilize my problem-solving and computing skills.

2. I was able to take the reins of my second and main project for the summer with the guidance and support of a technical group. The project assignment was to evaluate the effects of ethanol on key motor gasoline properties at concentrations greater than 10%. We routinely add 10% ethanol to our gasoline blends for sale and with annually increasing federal biofuels requirements (from the Energy and Independence Security Act 2007), the oil & gas industry cannot meet these requirements in the coming 2-3 years. As a response, the ethanol industry has petitioned for the EPA to increase the ethanol addition cap in our gasoline from 10% to 15%. Implementation of higher ethanol addition may come as soon as 2011, but we currently are not familiar with the effects of 15% ethanol on our gasoline properties and refinery operations. My role in the project was analyzing industry studies and ExxonMobil refinery lab studies for preparation of planning at ExxonMobil refineries if/when ethanol addition will be increased in gasoline. Not only was I able to analyze data utilizing computing skills I had developed at Lafayette, but also technically interact with other employees in different departments, learning more about the operations and business aspect of ExxonMobil. At the end of the internship, all interns held a poster presentation session to debut our summer projects to the corporation. We also celebrated the end of the internship process with a company-held cruise on the Potomac River in DC.

Besides my 40-hr work week, I had a lot of downtime after 5PM everyday to spend with my roommate and other interns. Almost every night, my roommate and I got creative in the kitchen and made it a point to cook dinner meals together. We’ve also been to VA beach and attended numerous shows and performances in the area, from Backstreet Boys and John Mayer concerts to orchestra symphony performances in DC. A group of us interns also made it a point to take advantage of the multicultural influences in DC and neighboring suburbs by trying new ethnic foods every week.

I could not have asked for a better summer internship experience, as there was not a single boring day. I’m eager to build upon the new life-long friendships I’ve developed with the other 88 ExxonMobil interns in Fairfax.

Not much, really enjoyed this internship.

I landed this internship by going to a career fair. So, make sure to network when you can!

You find out if you get a full time offer on the last day