What I Learned as a First-time Intern

I received my first offer letter sometime on January 2023. It was for a position that I didn't originally intend to apply for. I originally applied as a data analyst intern. But, received an offer for a special projects intern instead. Nevertheless, I seized this opportunity and took the job.

The job description states that I will be working as a general hustler. You know, guys who can do this, do that, proficient in Google Workspace (Docs, Excel), a little bit of scripting, and most importantly, discipline. It was intriguing because I would be working directly with the Founders. This also means that they have high expectations of my abilities. "No Problem!" I thought, "What could possibly go wrong?"

I hopped on a meeting with the CTO to discuss further about the job. This was 9 PM on a weekday, and I was hanging out with my friends in a cafe nearby. My mentor (the CTO) gave me a list of reading materials to parse through. I read articles about how to succeed as an intern, other people's experiences on their first internship, and so on.

And immediately that night, I was given tasks to finish. I asked when the due date was, and he told me that it was ASAP 😂. Welp, I started working anyways. And soon, I realized that the work was repetitive. I thought, "No wonder he hired someone else to do this menial stuff." But it didn't matter, I got the job, and I had to be responsible.

Soon, the academic year started. I'm about to begin my 4th semester as a CS student. The courses are no joke: Databases, Automata and Language Theory, Advanced Programming, and my arch-nemesis, Numerical Analysis. (Reviews on these subjects will be on a different blog 😉).

Anyways, it became quite challenging for me to keep up with both responsibilities at once. I'm talking full-day study and work. I usually arrive at the university by 8AM and leave by 5PM. After arriving at my dorm, I immediately started working and would finish by 1 to 2 AM. I'd sleep, wake up by 7 AM and repeat the same routine every day. It was stressful. There were even some days when I'd spend until 10 PM at my university library just because I didn't have time to commute back. It got so bad to the point that Slack notifications gave me PTSD.

However, don't mistake my rants as a form of complaining. I'm actually grateful that I had to experience this. I was tested to my limits and now know when too much is just too much.

Three months go by, and now I'm asked if I want to extend. I told them that I would be willing to do so under the condition that I start after my finals have ended and that I would be working in a different position. They agreed.

So now, I have about a month left of my studies this semester, and you know what? I got bored. I felt that my academic assignments' workload was light. So after class, I have a lot of free time, which I do not know what to spend with. It was awful.

I guess I missed the thrill. The feeling of being chased by 5 deadlines at the same time, studying and working until 2 AM, constant buzzing of Slack notifications, etc.

With all that being said, I'm highly grateful for this opportunity. I've heard that landing the first internship is the hardest, and no doubt I can attest to that. I've applied to countless positions before this, and 99% of the time would be ghosted. No doubt, this opportunity has opened more doors for me, and I am thankful for it.

P.S. I realized that I didn't really talk a lot about my job description in this post. And that is because I'm not sure if I'm allowed to. I might elaborate more about the actual ins and outs of my internship later in the future, though.