5 ms·
Ask HN: What should a student who is already decent at SWE do over the summer?
I'm a student majoring in computer science.
I'm trying to figure out what to do this summer.
I've already ruled out internships at most tech companies b/c
1. I spent a gap year working at a wide range of companies (big company, startup, research lab)
2. I'm a reasonably good programmer with open-source projects and while I'm quite sure I have a lot lot more to learn, I don't think a tech internship is the highest-leverage use of my time
3. (most important reason) I'm not sure I want to be a SWE. I love software engineering / programming, but when I think of the way to make the most impact in the world it's probably creating a (actually meaningful) startup/organization. (I know, I know, every young person says this these days)
Given that this is the case, I'm trying to figure out what to do this summer besides a normal tech internship. I was contemplating how to figure out what to do and decided on a "meta-strategy" of consulting people with more experience on forums such as HN.
Here are the options I've come up with so far:
1. Try to understand virality -- I'm not particularly good at creating viral content or content that appeals to the masses (aside from the natural edge that comes from being young), which could certainly be useful when marketing a product. An option here is trying to intern at a company like Buzzfeed which is full of people who understand emotions / virality.
2. Try to understand soft skills / business -- There are roles out there like "business development intern". I don't know anything about "business development" but negotiating with other companies / writing white-papers / etc. could be a useful skill
3. Spend time learning on my own. To enact change these days, it's probably not sufficient to just know programming (unless you want to do a SASS). Spending time on my own learning physics/chemistry/biology could be useful. The issue here is I believe mentorship is useful and this option negates that completely.
4. Working on my own business (not a software project). I've done this in the past & learned a lot about how to be scrappy. Not a terrible idea, but I don't want to sink 3 months into something only to have to return to school. Also negates mentorship. Also I'd rather spend time learning right now so I can execute on something that's not a local maximum of what my brain can imagine right now.
- cpach 5y agoAnother option is to travel and see the world. Best of luck!
- delbronski 5y agoConsider this! If you can, take a break from programming, and go learn about the world and meet other people. The best programmers I've worked with have all had one thing in common, great communication skills. Traveling the world on your own is one of the best ways to improve your communication skills.
- splittingTimes 5y agoCould not agree more. All the different people I met and environments/situations i encountered during my travels where quite a formative experience. - if COVID and money allow travel to places with many different cultures in a small space (e.g. Europe, SE Asia) - work at surf Camp. The number of people I met with extraordinary life storys/carrier choices and/or high achievers/corporate heavyweights was unexpected to me. Great for building a network. - if money is an issue consider WOOFING, work at a permaculture farm or a diving school. - try all kinds of different activities. I wish I would have started surfing and Swing dance not in my 30ies but 20ies instead. So go out there, learn dancing, surfing, climbing, self defense, archery, carving, diving, pottery, wood working, cooking, singing, sailing, horse riding, blues harp, build a permaculture garden/do guerilla gardening, build a race bike from parts. If you can do this in clubs/shared Workshops/schools/etc and get to know people, the better. Often out can work there (like in dance/diving/surf/climbing schools) in exchange for lessons.
- throwawayboise 5y agoGet a job working in a restaurant or construction.
- pipeline_peak 5y agoThis, it’s important to know what it’s like for those people. Because you sure as hell aren’t going to find out in the commercial world.
- missedthecue 5y agoThis is a great suggestion.
- throwawaynay 5y agoI really don't get that message or why people agree with you. It's not exactly the same but I spent exactly 1 week interning(mandatory) at a retail shop as a teen. Probably the most boring useless experience of my life. I don't understand why any sane/smart person would want to spend one minute at this kind of job. First of all volunteering would make 1000x more sense. Second of all what do you expect to gain from this kind of experience? Back pain? Or just learning about how to waste your time to make other people richer?
- throwawayboise 5y agoFor perspective. Volunteering might achieve that as well, but there's often too much of a "look how good I am, I am helping" vibe to that (I'm not saying don't ever volunteer, obviously volunteer orgs do a lot of good things, but it is a different experience altogether from working in a kitchen or construction site or a similar type job with people who are doing it because they have no other options).
- tupac_speedrap 5y agoHave the summer off, you don't have to "hustle" every single day. You seem to be trying to over-optimise your time and talk about wanting to change things, there is a good chance you'll get burnt out and there is more to life than writing code and solving problems. I have no idea about you other than the context of your post so I may be completely wrong though.
- leros 5y agoGiven reason #3, have you considered getting a product management internship? You'd get experience with the business that surrounds software development, which would be great background for creating your own software company some day.
- throwawaynay 5y agoGosh this is depressing. Out of curiosity I looked you up, look man, given your resume you're essentially set for life. You literally can do everything you want. But you need to live a little bit imo. You're what, 20-21yo? Relax. Spend time with some friends, if you have some, try dating? traveling? You've essentially achieved more than +99.9% of people at your age.(and actually a lot more than most people at any age) In a few years from now I don't think you'll regret not having taken one more course or made one more project, but you'll probably regret not having enjoyed your summers, or your evening/nights, or spending more time with people you care about in a friendly setting. On another thread you ask why overwork kills people...do you really want to find out?
- kojeovo 5y agoGet into a good exercise routine. It's much easier early 20s than it ever will be
- ve_era 5y agoCheckout recurse center: https://www.recurse.com/ https://www.recurse.com/.
- ahmaman 5y agoWow, this is amazing, thanks for sharing! Anybody had prior experience attending their retreats? I just started working on my "craft" as a programmer as a side project and definitely would be interested to attend one of these.
- Gortal278 5y agoGo work at a summer camp. It'll be good for you.
- defaultcompany 5y agoI was going to say this! Best two summers of my life I spent counselling little kids at summer camp. It is good for you and it's good for the kids too.
- kingcai 5y agoOther users advice about traveling, relaxing, and exercising is spot on, but probably not what you were looking for. Besides these are things you should do for a lifetime, not just a summer. I know you mentioned working at a research lab but have you tried more academic research? You seem to value learning and mentorship a lot, so it could be a lot of fun to pick a professor and work with them for a summer. Given your background, you could probably convince any STEM professor to work with you, and I would heavily recommend exploring stuff outside your area of expertise.