This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by Kevin Ho
You just got an internship as a software developer? Great! Now what?
Below is some advice that I wished I knew so that I could make the most out of my past internship opportunities in the IT industry.
After hustling in multiple roles as an intern, and currently, as a full-stack developer, there are some lessons I picked up that could make YOU a successful software developer.
1. Ask questions!
I myself have made this mistake countless times in the past. I was too afraid to ask questions, whether or not about technical or general topics. There were too many concerns when it comes to asking questions, what if my questions are not good enough, what if they think I’m dumb, etc. I freaked out in my mind before I could ask any questions, which led to me many hours later struggling with the problem that I could have solved if I asked people in my team whatever I wanted to know earlier.
So for those of you who are scared to speak up, and ask questions. Just know that people expect you to be an intern; they expect you to not be perfect. In fact, being able to ask as many questions as you want is one of the most valuable privileges an intern has. No one would judge you if you don’t know how to sort an array in Ruby, or how to query this piece of data from the database. To my surprise, most people are extremely helpful if you ask for help (at least in my past internships).
Asking questions not only helps you solve the problem faster but also builds the relationship between you and other people in the team. Also, you get to know how others solve their problems, what is their thinking process like, so that you can improve your problem-solving skill.
A bit of advice when asking questions, though. Do your research!
If you don’t know how to code this feature, try to google it first, make a prototype for that feature, brainstorm some of the possible solutions, or scroll the internet to see if anyone has the same problem as yours. Only after trying multiple times but you’re still stuck, then you ask for help. You don’t want to ask questions when you haven’t tried solving them first. You will come off as a lazy person who waits for others to tell them what to do.
2. Don’t compare yourself to others
I have had imposter syndrome when I first landed my first internship, and even today, I have to deal with imposter syndrome sometimes. Comparing myself to others is the root cause, in my opinion.
Comparison is the root cause of all evil — Haresh Sippy
That being said, imposter syndrome is a very common phenomenon in the tech industry. Frankly, most of the co-workers I talked to have had imposter syndrome at least once in their careers.
Comparing myself to others has prevented me from overcoming challenges. I’ve always felt like everyone knows what they are doing, why does everyone do complicated tasks with ease. And here’s me not knowing how to center a div. I had been so stressed out that I couldn’t finish an easy task. I thought I would be so happy working as a software engineer, but that day, I was questioning my career choice.
However, as time goes by, getting to know more about the people I compared myself with makes me better at dealing with imposter syndrome. I realized:
- Everyone has their own beginning. Even the most talented guy in your team could have been ‘not very good’ before. You cannot just compare your day 1 with somebody else’s day 100.
- You should factor in everything about whoever you’re comparing yourself with. This way, you can use imposter syndrome to your benefit. Imagine comparing yourself with a 10-year experienced developer, if you know it takes that person 10 years to reach the level they’re at now, it not only motivates you to learn more to achieve that level quicker, but also makes you happier by increasing the awareness of your current level and what you want to become in the future. Now you have a goal to pursue rather than a negative thought holding you from your dreams.
In conclusion, don’t compare yourself with anyone, the only one that you should compare yourself with is your past self. However, if you couldn’t stop comparing, please take into account all factors associate with the person you’re comparing with.
3. Meeting new people
I wished I had talked to more people.
I’m so regretful that I didn’t make the effort to talk to more people; I didn’t want to work on something new that I’m not accustomed to. All I cared about at the time was finishing as many tickets as possible. That was a huge mistake!
These kinds of things really hinder me to grow as a software developer or as a person in general. Later on, I was more open to meeting new people, working on things that are outside of my job description. I essentially tried to wear many hats, meet more people from other teams. You will be surprised athow much you learn just by talking and getting to know people.
That’s it! Thanks for reading my article. Please consider giving me a clap and a follow if you find it helpful. Have a good day!
Things I wish I knew before my first software engineer internship was originally published in Level Up Coding on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
This content originally appeared on Level Up Coding - Medium and was authored by Kevin Ho
Kevin Ho | Sciencx (2021-12-29T23:00:28+00:00) Things I wish I knew before my first software engineer internship. Retrieved from https://www.scien.cx/2021/12/29/things-i-wish-i-knew-before-my-first-software-engineer-internship/
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