Not technically internship but I read similar posts and figured many people have similar problems when new in internships so thought I'd ask here.
As an engineering student, I joined my university’s racing team in freshman year, but I came in at an awkward time. Everyone already had things to do and despite asking many times for work, I did not get much to do. They only gave me very simple CAD work and I honestly did not learn anything new. People were too busy to explain to me what they were doing.
I did not quite know what I wanted from this experience. I was new in college, even new in the country, wanted to try new things, learn what people actually do in projects, that was all I knew. In the first place I had 0 idea how the race works, how this enormous organization works, what kind of work were actually out there, and what happens at what time; and I did not know how to even start asking.
Later on the year, I simply quitted. I was just tired of sitting there feeling pointless and it was easier for me to just stop going to meetings. I admit I was kinda intimidated by all the busy people too, so I probably did not try my best. But I am right now just so confused how people usually get over it.
What would you have done in a situation like this? Specifically, how do you know what questions to ask that gave you a sight of the job? Or maybe it's really just bad luck/bad timing/attitude issue on my end? Would love to hear what helped you personally, or even if you went through something similar and still don’t have an answer. Thanks!