My time as an Intern | Summer 2019

How to get an internship

One can apply for an internship through platforms such as Internshala, LinkedIn, Naukri.com, angel.co and the like. Approaching professors for internships may also help you. Professors have contacts with working professionals and researchers in their respective fields. It will be easy for you to enter an institute if a professor recommends you.  

Big IT firms have their own internship programs. Registering in these programs will surely help. If you know anyone working in your field, approach that person for an internship. It will surely help you get an internship. 

Why do an internship

I would suggest everyone should do at least one internship during the course. While working at a professional place, one learns to face real-world challenges. While working in the IT field, just good coding skills or logical thinking is not enough. Most of the time of a coder is spent searching for the right answers for a certain error. It can be stressful sometimes but that’s what the job is. Make things work! 

My internship

I completed my summer internship last year at an American-based company named  Ampool. Ampool works in the Big Data Infrastructure space and provides a platform that will accelerate Data Queries. I am writing this blog to elaborate my experience at this company. 

I approximately worked in this company for 2 months. In this 2 months I learned numerous technologies while working in 2 different teams. I was exposed to technologies such as  Amazon web services , Hadoop ecosystems, ansible, etc. I learned the concept of Rest APIs and used them for my work. I also had the privilege of working on virtual machines and to see working of different distributed systems. Being a bit of a tech nerd, I was fascinated to work on and explore such beautiful tech tools!

You will also learn some work place ethics!

Some other things that I learned were to sit and work in one place for 8 hours! Many times when we work on projects and assignments as students in college or our homes, we have the liberty to work as we wish, take breaks anytime, work with loud music as well. That’s a big change I felt when working at a professional workplace. I also learned to write concise and professional emails. That may sound as a petty thing, but to work efficiently one has to communicate properly. I had splendid experience working in such a nice and healthy work atmosphere. And most of all, I had lots and lots of cups of coffee! (I always used to wonder why coders drink so much coffee. It keeps you focused and most importantly awake!!!)

Just coding ain’t enough!!!

Working as a coder also requires us to go through the documentation of different libraries, asking the right questions on communities about an error one faces. I learned all these things during my time in Ampool. Internships are important as one gets to implement the knowledge learned in the college. It surely changes your perspective and makes you a better professional. 

My Internship surely helped in shaping me as a better learner and a good coder!  

An internship will help you in the future

Establish contacts with the people you work with. Keep in touch with them even after the internship is over. Having some contact with professionals will always give you an edge over your peers while your job search post-graduation. You will learn tons of things from these guys due to their experience in the field. If you are planning for higher studies, a recommendation from your employer will surely increase your chance of getting into a good graduate school.