Hello fromtheshadows, I will give you two pieces of advice you may think conflict, but they do not. 1) Your fellow interns might be trying too hard. You may

Hello fromtheshadows, I will give you two pieces of advice you may think conflict, but they do not. 1) Your fellow interns might be trying too hard. You may be too young to recognize this but unless they are truly exceptionally gifted social animals (hint: they are probably not) they are trying very very hard to gain favor with senior management who will ultimately make the decision to hire or recommend them to other roles. This does not always work; it can work if they are genuinely personable (some actually are), and it can sometimes work if they are not but there are weak personalities in senior positions who think "this person must deserve it because they tried so hard too engage people". Just know that not every super-networker is admired by those they are trying to connect (read: brownnose) with. Ignore them and focus on yourself. 2) Software is a team sport. If you can't engineer as a team with your fellow developers; if you can't disagree yet compromise or think one one way but be swayed by another engineer's point of view; if you can't learn from the senior mentors who are teaching you that software is in part a social activity, well, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but you're not likely to achieve the full potential of an exceptional software developer. You can get a job in the industry, surely, but you'll never be as truly valuable as someone who can communicate effectively with their peers. It isn't about being a hit at parties--but being someone whose opinion people can trust because you listen and thus people listen to you. This requires non-zero social skills, but you don't have to invite the Marketing team to play air hockey after work--you just need to be able to understand what you're building and why and ask for clarity if you are ever unclear. This DOES extend beyond your core engineering team (e.g., this means you have to talk to your product owner and other stakeholders). You have to be able to communicate with those people not just now but forever in this industry. If you just can't, either consider another role or consider a narrow, well-defined individual contributor role at a well-established company where you are ok with not advancing. Do you need to change yourself? It is hard to say; I am not sure how old you are and where you are at in your career. But do be a team player who is curious; just know that you don't have to drink a gallon of beer or play ping pong until 9pm to be respected--you just have to be a good listener, a good asker of questions and someone people look forward to collaborating with.