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> I see the same in software. We sometimes have interns whip up some system that on the surface looks good and innovative and makes the old timers look bad and
by kristianc 7y ago
> I see the same in software. We sometimes have interns whip up some system that on the surface looks good and innovative and makes the old timers look bad and unimaginative. But once you try to deploy them they usually fall apart because they ignored some inconvenient real world details.
You’ve criticized the article but ended up reaching essentially the same conclusion. Having interns spin up a new feature which can later be tidied up and put into production is a great use of time. Interns are cheap, less busy, see things that more jaded people may not, and are liable to be less risk averse too. If you take what the interns build and put it directly into production, that’s on you, but the interns may be able to get you 80% of the way there in half the time.
- Ididntdothis 7y ago"get you 80% of the way there in half the time." From my experience they don't. Either it gets thrown away or the cleanup requires as much or more even more work than if experienced people had done it from scratch. Edit: I am not saying there is no value in work from newcomers but I think it's often overrated. They usually do the easy part but finishing it takes much more work than people think.
- guntars 7y agoAgreed, interns are extremely expensive and anyone who thinks that they are cheap labor is not aware of the day to day details. Only reason to ever have interns is if you want to give back to the community and grow your senior talent. You might end up with some loyal developers that know your stack, but I wouldn't bank on it. They certainly have no place in an early stage startup.