Better as a Team: Spotlight on our Recent Engineering Interns

Andrew Lum
7 min readintermediate
--
View Original

Overview

The article highlights the experiences of recent engineering interns at SafetyCulture, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and hands-on learning in engineering roles. It features insights from interns Hugh and Vincent, who share their backgrounds, projects, and the skills they developed during their internships.

What You'll Learn

1

How to effectively collaborate with software engineers in a team setting

2

Why hands-on experience is crucial for developing technical skills in software engineering

3

How to leverage feedback from peer reviews to improve coding skills

Key Questions Answered

What skills did the interns develop during their time at SafetyCulture?
The interns developed various skills including programming, project management, and user-focused problem-solving. They learned to take projects from inception to proof-of-concept and gained experience with modern technologies like gRPC.
How did the internship structure support learning and collaboration?
The internship included daily coffee catch-ups, programming tasks, team meetings, and workshops. This structure facilitated collaboration and provided opportunities for interns to showcase their work through weekly demos.
What projects did the interns work on during their internship?
Hugh worked on a project to replace a tool used by support and finance teams, utilizing a gRPC web client. Vincent created a proof of concept for integrating NetSuite and Chargify, focusing on data synchronization between the two systems.

Technologies & Tools

Some links below are affiliate links. We may earn a commission if you make a purchase.

Key Actionable Insights

1
Engage actively with your team to enhance learning opportunities.
Participating in team meetings and casual catch-ups can foster a collaborative environment that accelerates personal growth and technical skill development.
2
Seek feedback regularly to improve your coding abilities.
Utilizing peer reviews can provide valuable insights into your coding practices, helping you identify areas for improvement and reinforcing best practices.
3
Embrace hands-on projects to solidify your understanding of theoretical concepts.
Working on real-world projects allows you to apply what you've learned in a practical setting, enhancing both your confidence and competence as a software engineer.

Common Pitfalls

1
Underestimating the importance of user-focused problem-solving.
Many engineers may focus solely on technical aspects without considering how their work impacts end-users, which can lead to solutions that do not meet user needs.