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Have you spent any time at all with this new team in person? If not, I suspect it would be valuable to meet with the team face to face. Sure, you can do calls a

Have you spent any time at all with this new team in person? If not, I suspect it would be valuable to meet with the team face to face. Sure, you can do calls and such, but it's a lot easier for them to think of you as an outsider if you haven't actually occupied the office space. You might also consider getting a mentor within the company. This is how we do it at $employer; you report to a manager, but your tasks and assistance come from a single mentor whose purpose during your tenure is to guide you towards completing your assigned project. Have you been given a large but attainable project, or are they expecting you to just fix bugs and the like?

startupintern 10y ago
I have not, and practically speaking I can't; they're in Silicon Valley and I'm in the Midwest. The mentor system was extremely valuable for me in my prior internships, but as I transition into industry I feel that the impetus is on me to learn how to work without a mentor, which I think is what I'm struggling with. It's a large, attainable project but on an unrealistic timescale.
- abannin 10y ago
  I don't think you need a mentor to say "I'm not confident that I can deliver that functionality within the timeline provided. Help me understand the most important parts of the feature so I can prioritize and deliver ASAP."
- al2o3cr 10y ago
  "practically speaking I can't; they're in Silicon Valley and I'm in the Midwest." Planes exist. This is a trivially-solvable problem. Yes, they cost money - but the time savings from improved communication will amortize that cost very rapidly. If what they're paying you won't cover a plane ticket in a week or less but they're expecting you to ship features solo, GTFO. There's a clear line between "internship that pays below market because learning" and "bullshit job that pays below market because interns don't know any better". On a final note, the whole "I need to learn how to work without a mentor" thing is really odd. That style of learning, IMO, actually becomes more important post-graduation...
- Morgawr 10y ago
  >as I transition into industry I feel that the impetus is on me to learn how to work without a mentor There are plenty of non-intern employees who have mentors, that's how we do it at where I am currently working at least. I see nothing wrong with that, there's no reason why you wouldn't have one either.

startupintern 10y ago

I have not, and practically speaking I can't; they're in Silicon Valley and I'm in the Midwest. The mentor system was extremely valuable for me in my prior internships, but as I transition into industry I feel that the impetus is on me to learn how to work without a mentor, which I think is what I'm struggling with. It's a large, attainable project but on an unrealistic timescale.

abannin 10y ago
I don't think you need a mentor to say "I'm not confident that I can deliver that functionality within the timeline provided. Help me understand the most important parts of the feature so I can prioritize and deliver ASAP."
al2o3cr 10y ago
"practically speaking I can't; they're in Silicon Valley and I'm in the Midwest." Planes exist. This is a trivially-solvable problem. Yes, they cost money - but the time savings from improved communication will amortize that cost very rapidly. If what they're paying you won't cover a plane ticket in a week or less but they're expecting you to ship features solo, GTFO. There's a clear line between "internship that pays below market because learning" and "bullshit job that pays below market because interns don't know any better". On a final note, the whole "I need to learn how to work without a mentor" thing is really odd. That style of learning, IMO, actually becomes more important post-graduation...
Morgawr 10y ago
>as I transition into industry I feel that the impetus is on me to learn how to work without a mentor There are plenty of non-intern employees who have mentors, that's how we do it at where I am currently working at least. I see nothing wrong with that, there's no reason why you wouldn't have one either.