Saturday, August 11, 2018

I just wrapped up my first software development internship at IBM Cloud yesterday! It’s surreal to leave Texas – these past ten weeks have flown by way too quickly and now it’s so bittersweet saying goodbye to my coworkers, fellow interns, and the many welcoming people I’ve met in Dallas. Reflecting back on my first software development internship, I wanted to make note of a few pieces of advice that I want to remember for my next internship/job. :)

1. Come in with an open mind and absorb knowledge like a sponge.

Being surrounded by such experienced and skilled software engineers everyday means I can take every moment with them as a learning experience! At university, I mostly have theoretical knowledge, but being in an industry setting means I get to apply these skills to a real-world situation and project, so I take every opportunity with my team to learn from them.

2. It’s okay to ask questions especially during the first 2-3 weeks. After that, spend some time researching the answer before asking a coworker or manager.

During the first two weeks, I always felt nervous asking my coworker for help because I thought they would think I was dumb, but I realized that it’s better to take advantage of these first few weeks when I’m still getting used to the internship and environment to ask away! They don’t judge, but after the introductory weeks, it’s better to spend some time (even if it’s a couple of hours) trying to find the answer before consulting a coworker.

3. Take notes while learning something new!

Whenever I learned about a new framework or technology, I took notes on my laptop, so that if I ever ran into it or needed to use it again, I could refer to my notes and not have to research all over again. Also, I am a visual learner and writing things down helps me connect ideas and remember more for next time.

4. Get to know the fellow interns and other employees at the office besides those on my team.

Meeting new people and hearing about their experiences is always a good thing and take this as a learning opportunity!

5. Be proactive!

A lot of times, my manager and mentor didn’t push me to finish any assignments and it was all up to me and on my own time. It’s different from school where we have many deadlines when projects are due. Personally, they didn’t expect too much out of interns, and I had to be proactive in pinging them through Slack whenever I finished my tasks and even somewhat made my own work at times whenever I came up with a feature/idea, I made sure to run it through with my mentor before implementing.

6. For development, write code cleanly and carefully!

Make sure to read the existing codebase and understand the logic carefully. Next, plan out and map what I want to achieve in my code. Write out the code and create unit tests (and possibly integration tests). Revise code thoroughly before submitting for code review!

7. Remember to write thank you cards/notes to manager and coworkers!

It’s important to say thank you and tell them how much you appreciate their time in helping you. I also brought some sweet treats for them (Madeleines and brownies) on my last day and it was a nice way to say goodbye.

8. It’s good to take breaks!

I reminded myself to get up for a cup of water every hour and aimed to drink 6-8 cups of water a day! It’s important to take care of yourself being in a cubicle all day – stay hydrated and don’t go hungry. I definitely ate too many peanut M&Ms this summer though, but oh well. No regrets.

I’m incredibly grateful that IBM took a chance on me and believed in me for this internship role & this past summer has definitely been one of the best summers yet and I’ll always remember those Dallas days. :’)

Best of luck,

Anita