Tuesday was my first day at National Semiconductor Corporation in the Worldwide Market and Sales Group (WMS) as a Finance Analyst Intern. For those who do not know National that well, I would like to give a brief outline of the company. National produces analogue semiconductors for other major manufacturers such as Apple, Motorola, Bosch, Siemens, etc that can be used in mobile phones, SatNavs, solar cells and all other kinds of electronical devices. National's semiconductors are well known for their energy efficiency. Only recently though National was acquired by Texas Instruments, also a manufacturer of both digital and analogue semiconductors. This deal is about to close in the next months, so that means that there are interesting times ahead for National.
On my first working day I was shown around the campus and facilities by my line manager and also got a badge in order to be able to enter the facilities. After lunch, my office space was set up and I got my own laptop. The rest of the day I was given access to all the important systems but I would have to wait a day or two to completely be able to access all the systems and software. The last days, I had several meetings with other staff members to show me the functions of the software and systems. I can now happily report that I have already been given some small tasks and projects to do and I was told that I will get a very good inside into many business areas, systems and processes. I can concur with other bloggers who describe the first days and weeks as a steep learning curve and it really is. I can already see that I will be learning so much and will be given intense exposure to the business in the next couple of weeks.
Yesterday was the first time that we went to a bar near the workplace and we had some drinks and I got to know people from other business areas. Also, Kieran, another Saltire Foundation Intern arrived yesterday who will be working for National starting on Monday. For the weekend, I think that I will go to San Francisco and explore the sights there. I will follow up with another update next week! Greetings to all from sunny California! :)