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"and the impact on the product it's possible to have as an intern at a company where the only difference between you and a fulltime engineer is age" I think, a

by objclxt 14y ago

"and the impact on the product it's possible to have as an intern at a company where the only difference between you and a fulltime engineer is age" I think, and I speak as someone who hires the technical interns for my employer, that an internship where the only difference between you and the fulltime engineer is age isn't a good internship. A good internship program is something that goes beyond just 'doing the day job'. There are far too many companies that treat internships as 'cheap labor' - this is particularly true in the UK (my office is in London, although my interns come from the US due to alma matter connections) where internships are not as established. It's more nuanced than 'don't take the highest offer' - really, the advice should be 'take the internship that will offer you the most valuable experience'. Acting as a cheap source of labor can certainly form part of an internship...but I really don't think it should be the overarching goal. Perhaps this is why Google's internship programs are so successful and sought after.

nickbarnwell 14y ago
> It's more nuanced than 'don't take the highest offer' - really, the advice should be 'take the internship that will offer you the most valuable experience' I will start by saying that as I understand it, we agree. Yield, by my definition with regard to choosing an internship is perhaps 20% pay (more significant if in a location with high CoL), 80% what you'll learn. > an internship where the only difference between you and the fulltime engineer is age isn't a good internship. Perhaps I should have clarified - an internship in which you are treated as an equal to FTEs is immensely rewarding. Not once have I felt as though I was merely a 'cheap source of labour', and I would certainly qualify every internship I have had as excellent. Every position I've taken has produced a measurable impact on my ability as an engineer and entrepreneur. The exposure to a significant number of different languages, frameworks, system architectures, and development practices has given me a modicum of wisdom beyond my years and made me aware of previously unknown unknowns. The knowledge garnered of marketing, sales, product development, and analytics has been invaluable, and the talented designers I have had the pleasure to work alongside have certainly inspired me to appreciate and strive for an incredible user experience. Had I been given wholly insignificant projects, excluded from meetings, and treated as half-as-productive (even when I was) I don't feel the effect would have been half as great.

by objclxt 14y ago

nickbarnwell 14y ago

> It's more nuanced than 'don't take the highest offer' - really, the advice should be 'take the internship that will offer you the most valuable experience' I will start by saying that as I understand it, we agree. Yield, by my definition with regard to choosing an internship is perhaps 20% pay (more significant if in a location with high CoL), 80% what you'll learn. > an internship where the only difference between you and the fulltime engineer is age isn't a good internship. Perhaps I should have clarified - an internship in which you are treated as an equal to FTEs is immensely rewarding. Not once have I felt as though I was merely a 'cheap source of labour', and I would certainly qualify every internship I have had as excellent. Every position I've taken has produced a measurable impact on my ability as an engineer and entrepreneur. The exposure to a significant number of different languages, frameworks, system architectures, and development practices has given me a modicum of wisdom beyond my years and made me aware of previously unknown unknowns. The knowledge garnered of marketing, sales, product development, and analytics has been invaluable, and the talented designers I have had the pleasure to work alongside have certainly inspired me to appreciate and strive for an incredible user experience. Had I been given wholly insignificant projects, excluded from meetings, and treated as half-as-productive (even when I was) I don't feel the effect would have been half as great.