Tech Internship (FINAL Week)

With the final days of my very first tech internship coming to an end, I wanted to reflect on my experience. This year was my introduction to the tech industry and all of its many ebbs & flows. This summer internship brought to life a lot of excitement as well as anxiety. Feeling that I would fail was a concern for me being a human and all. I was able to shine in my role as an intern when I stopped expecting so much of myself. This internship experience was a taste of what my experience will be as an engineer, not an inditement of my character.

I enjoyed being able to have my opinions heard and have my skills validated with Popmenu. I got to work closely with really smart people who wanted to push Popmenu to new levels. This experience was a stepping stone for my career in Software Engineering, I got a taste of what is expected of me without having the weight of responsibility. If you are reading this and considering an internship after boot camp or in between semesters, I highly suggest it. Interning is very important in this field. Internships give you short spurts of experience and the ability to consume new information. So don’t feel bad or too good for an internship, it gives you a chance to flex your muscles before the big gig.

As a ‘Junior Developer’ or ‘Software Engineer I’, you are in a constant mode of learning and absorbing. Engineering software and writing code are both mentally taxing and I was able to get brushed up to speed with the opportunity. I am very humbled and grateful to get my feet planted on the ground in this field. My biggest challenge during the course of this internship was getting better at Ruby on Rails. I was confronted with problems I have never faced before but was able to use the leverage of my intern class and mentor to get me out of holes. I’m so excited and honored to have worked with so many intelligent tech professionals, the entire company really works to uphold the brand.

Some of my biggest takeaways from this experience were getting familiar with working with a team of engineers and getting used to the workflow. I got a great glimpse of working at a company that is growing and still in the start-up phase. I was good enough to actually have code merged into the main production branch. I worked with seeding the database, creating validations for models, updating components to newer standards, creating RSpec tests and so much more. I was happy that the Flatiron boot camp was able to prepare me so well for this role, having worked in the same stack (RoR, React).

I owe this incredible opportunity to my network and the people who have supported me over the years and throughout my journey into tech. Thank you to Popmenu Engineering for this amazing experience, I will remember this moment in my life forever. I plan on starting my new role as a Software Engineer I at OfficeSpace next week!!!

Comment & share if you can relate!

Happy Coding!