Some people may consider an internship to be a part-time job over one summer of college, with the sole purpose being to bolster the real-life experience portion of a résumé. In some minds, interning means arriving at work in a suit at some ungodly hour of the morning in a suit with a tray full of coffee, dreading the monotony of the next eight hours laboriously copying data from an Excel document into a database.
Thankfully, my internship at HCSS has proven to be much more fulfilling and worthwhile than those stereotypes. As I wrap up my fifth week and have had a good amount of time to get accustomed to the culture, I thought now would be an appropriate time to reflect upon how HCSS has empowered me as an intern.
I’ve heard time and time again how HCSS pours back into its employees to promote a healthy culture that fosters high-quality work and how employees rave about working for such a company. As such, I’ve looked at the ways HCSS has helped me grow as a software engineer.
1. Expanding knowledge and pursuing challenges
Interning at HCSS has meant being placed on a team of peers that nurtures my growth as a developer by capitalizing on my strengths, all the while helping me to pick up new skills. My first day here was exciting, but I also knew that within a couple days I would be diving into unfamiliar territory with regards to the code that I would be working. Moreover, I had no prior experience with C# and was unsure how to start working on the vast expanse of code that makes up Equipment360, our equipment maintenance software for construction companies.
But my project manager, Reji, helped me develop an understanding of C# through an array of online resources and his tutorial book, which ultimately simplified the process and eased the various concerns I had about the jobs I would undertake. HCSS has helped me pick up new technologies with ease so that I may quickly dive into getting work done. Furthermore, it has helped me understand that new materials and challenges are not something I should dread or try to avoid, but rather opportunities for growth to be tackled head-on.
2. Seeing what I’ve learned being put into practice
Interning at HCSS means working for a company that effectively contributes to and expands the toolbox of skills I’ve developed in school. It’s rewarding and, frankly, magical to see different software development methodologies you have superficially discussed within an academic setting actually getting fleshed out in the workplace. Whether that’s experiencing the different types of developer meetings that I learned about through my Software Engineering classes or visualizing sprint burndown charts, HCSS has helped reinforce my understanding of various academic disciplines by pushing them to the next level.
3. Encouragement from coworkers
Finally, HCSS has helped me develop and grow as a software engineer through the wonderful people who work here. Working with people who actively want to see you improve and care about your contributions means a great deal to anyone, especially an intern, and I’m thankful that this quality abounds in HCSS employees. My coworkers have taught me that my work has value and that I should actively seek to improve and engage in a continuous cycle of feedback and learning. HCSS truly provides the tools for anyone to succeed, and they will as long as the individual wielding them actively seeks to learn, request feedback for his or her work, and identify ways to improve.
Credit: Photography by Josh Espinoza