Sample Externship Opportunities
TeacherTech externs can work in all functions within a company. The following examples illustrate the diversity of assignments offered by employers in 2007:
2007 TeacherTech Externship Opportunities
American Century Investments
Job title: Curriculum Developer
The teacher extern evaluates and improves the company’s personal financial education curricula, Tips for Kids® and Tips for Life®. This person works within the Community Investments department to identify area schools and community organizations that will benefit from using the programs and develop teacher training programs to introduce the Tips for Kids and Tips for Life curricula. The teacher has the opportunity to see how an investment management firm operates, gain an understanding of the skill sets needed to work in the investment management industry and understand the various jobs available in the financial services industry.
Bayer HealthCare
Job title: R & D Technical Assistant
The research and development technical assistant is part of an international team that helps generate and compile documentation to support new product development in a Food and Drug Administration-regulated industry. This person conducts assigned experiments and follows directions and laboratory procedures as assigned by a supervisor. The extern analyzes, interprets and reports results to the supervisor and interacts with scientists within the department and Bayer HealthCare, LLC.
Black & Veatch Corp.
Job title: Scientific Writer/Technical Researcher
Using skills and aptitude necessary to conduct thorough research on a global basis, this extern researches scientific topics and prepares papers for publication in thought-leadership journals. Duties include mining internal/external databases for information, interviewing internal/external sources, helping judge the merit of archival papers for publication, researching existing journals in the water industry and determining demographics/interest profiles of target audiences.
Cerner
Job title: Cerner Healthcare Information Technology
The teacher extern works with key leaders in Cerner’s Intellectual Property organization. The extern gains insight into Cerner’s software development process and methodology and is able to assist with a project to configure Parasoft (a code scrubbing tool) and help roll the tool out to the organization.
CVS/Pharmacy
Job title: Pharmacy Technician (in Missouri and Kansas)
The primary purpose of the pharmacy technician is to assist the pharmacist to ensure that each customer has a positive experience at CVS and to ensure customer satisfaction. In this role, teachers obtain information for new prescriptions; retrieve and file pharmacy prescriptions in appropriate files; access, input and retrieve information from the computer; retrieve, count and measure drugs; assist customers with their questions, problems and complaints; operate a cash register; and refer doctor’s calls and customer’s questions to the pharmacist.
GE Energy
Job title: AutoCAD Teacher Extern
The teacher extern is part of a dynamic unit of GE Energy focused on helping customers improve plant performance and increase overall profitability. As a member of the engineering team, the teacher learns how CAD knowledge is applied in industry. The extern performs drafting to support sales and manufacturing of air quality solutions and supports other design projects.
GETS Global Signaling
Job title: Validation Test Engineering Internship
Using strong oral and written communication skills and a strong technical aptitude, the extern at GETS Global Signaling supports independent system validation programs and requirements-based system validation testing on advanced railway signaling systems and products. The extern works on multi-disciplinary new product development teams performing requirement reviews, requirements to test tracing, test procedures and test execution.
H&R Block
Job title: Intern
This extern supports the chief information officer by assisting with assigned projects related to specific business markets. The extern conducts in-depth research related to targeted businesses and varied geographic markets identified by the chief information officer. Research is primarily conducted through reading and Internet queries. The person also researches, gathers and packages information for executive presentation.
Kansas City Power & Light
Job title: KCP&L Program Coordinator
The extern assists in the development of a pilot career pathway program for high school students interested in pursuing craft and technical careers within the utility industry. Teacher activities include developing the core curriculum and learning objectives of the program, becoming educated on KCP&L technologies (power plants visits), assisting in the creation of partnerships and awareness of the program within the Kansas City School District and launching the pilot program.
Kansas University Physicians, Incorporated
Job title: Policies and Procedures Coordinator
This extern organizes, creates, reviews and edits policies and procedures covering employment, compensation, benefits, performance management, employee relations, recruiting and retention and compliance with federal, state and local laws. This extern also writes, revises, edits and proofreads other company documents. The extern works closely with the senior human resources coordinator in developing, implementing and evaluating changes to ensure continuity and compliance.
Kauffman Foundation
Job title: Teacher Extern
Under the supervision of the vice president for education, the teacher extern researches and designs projects that will eventually become foundation-sponsored programs to improve science education across the Kansas City Metropolitan Area and/or the nation. Over the course of eight weeks, the extern gains exposure to various initiatives and efforts within a large national foundation that is the preeminent thought leader in entrepreneurship.
SPC TelEquip
Job title: Product Standardization Coordinator
This extern works within the engineering department and provides interdepartmental communication and coordination with management, sales and manufacturing. This person also establishes product costs based on revised bills of material and restructures product manuals to match standard product configurations.
Union Station Kansas City
Job title: Space Science Education Teacher Extern
The extern develops activities and lessons related to space science education appropriate for elementary and middle school students. Lessons focus on cross-curricular activities relating to Kansas/Missouri and national education standards. The lessons will be incorporated into a continuing education program for teachers that uses the Challenger Learning Center at Science City to prepare educators to teach space science.
University of Kansas Medical Center
Job title: Mini Med School Program Developer
Mini Med School is an existing program that is currently being revised to target juniors and seniors in high school who have an interest in pursuing careers in health care. The teacher extern researches and develops activities and lesson plans to enhance the curriculum. Lessons include such courses as anatomy and physiology, biology and the life sciences. The extern works closely with UMKC faculty and staff and five partnering school districts in rural areas across the state of Kansas.
Walz Tetrick Advertising
Job title: Agency Marketing/Systems Analyst
The person in this position works on several research projects, each two to three weeks in length, to determine agency efficiency and profitability. Projects include interviewing existing clients and compiling data to evaluate agency performance, determining profitability on existing agency accounts and investigating current industry trends to assist with new business growth.
YouthFriends
Job title: Peer Coach
The peer coach helps ensure the success of TeacherTech externships by providing guidance and support to participating teacher externs and workplace mentors/supervisors. This person works with workplace mentors/supervisors and teachers to ensure active problem solving and workplace integration, as well as working with YouthFriends staff to design and lead teacher support systems. Also, the person in this role works with a University of Missouri-Kansas City instructor to coordinate the continuing education partnership course for those teachers seeking credit hours.
Additional Sample Opportunities
Education Content Specialist - Conduct research and develop plans to incorporate digital/multimedia tools into an education curriculum that meets state standards and improves student performance. Work with the corporate affairs department to identify area schools and community-based organizations that have outstanding multimedia programs for youth.
Engineering Technician - Working in a team environment, prepare drawings with CADD and assist in other aspects of plan preparation such as information gathering and plan production. Utilize computer aided drafting and various other computer software packages to assist in preparing computer generated design plans by drafting and adding text to the design file and producing plan sheets.
Biotechnology Curriculum Developer - Identify, develop and launch online teaching tools suitable for high school biology and/or biotechnology classrooms. Activities will include becoming educated on company’s technology (attend trainings, seminars etc.); identifying and developing teaching tools; and launching project on Internet for teachers to download (staff will help with the Internet portion).
Chemistry Research Associate - Help with synthesis and purification of new organic molecules that will be tested as potential drugs for treating obesity or another metabolic disease.
Science Writer/Educational Consultant - Write abstracts of journal articles that reference company’s technology used in key scientific advances. Compile/write articles for AP Biology Curriculum that are tied to science standards. Create a searchable database of journal articles that reference company’s technology.
Banking Education Specialist - Work with Banking Education Manager to assess needs, design, develop and implement an advanced education program for the bank and its affiliates. Provide internal consulting support to facilitate the learning process and skill development.
Hospital Communications Specialist - Work with Children’s Hospital Communications Department and State Drowning Prevention Network to develop a Drowning Prevention and Water Safety Web site and activity booklet.
Software Process Analyst - Create documentation for a newly deployed Web-based data management application. Assist in developing Web forms and charts/graphs for the application users and gathering measurement data from projects and functional groups.
Research Fellow I - Work with scientists to learn about the Institute’s research. Develop curriculum related to this research to test in classrooms and share with other teachers. Develop materials for student tours of the Institute. Assist in planning and leading a teacher-training day. Help plan expansion of the program.
Program Manager - Research “best in class” practices of corporate IT organizations worldwide. Work with IT senior personnel to plan and integrate best practices into company.