Tomorrow is the first day of my first software development internship ever, and to be honest, I'm pretty nervous and not sure what to expect. What advice/things to expect/things you wish you'd known when you started your first job does HN have to share? It is at IBM.
IBM....<p>I've interviewed a guy from IBM before. He insisted on commenting everything and having getters and setters for all of his fields.
If you google you can find out why I didn't think this was such a good idea...
<a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?sugexp=chrome,mod=11&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8&q=why+getters+and+setters+are+bad" rel="nofollow">https://www.google.co.uk/search?sugexp=chrome,mod=11&sou...</a><p>Being in a company has a lot to do with how well you get along with people. You're new, and so I suggest that you listen carefully, ask questions about things that you don't understand (otherwise you'll feel like a dumbass next time they bring it up, and you still don't know what they're talking about).<p>When you've been working somewhere for a while you also tend to dismiss the problems around you. Make sure you note down all of the things that you find wrong about the place - ask people why these things are they way that they are - it could be a misunderstanding on your part, but it could also be that there are genuinely things that need fixing.<p>Make sure you keep a notepad on you - note down everything that you learn, problems that you see etc - it'll come in handy.<p>After a couple of weeks you can start acting on fixing the problems that you've seen - if you actively seek to solve problems, then you can become a hero in the company - the guy that made our lives better.<p>Lastly remember that if you want something you'll have to fight for it. Don't be afraid to disagree with people, but you have to play a fine game when you've just come into the company - you don't want to piss people off, but you also don't want to set the expectation that you're OK with shitty code.<p>I hope that helps! have fun out there ;)<p>Lou
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One of the things that has been making me nervous is that my supervisor sent all the interns a list of technologies that would be useful to "have some familiarity with" going in. How much on-the-job training is there typically in a programming job and how much are you expected to learn on your own time or before coming in? I, being overly neurotic, mapped out a time plan for becoming strong in all the areas over the course of three weeks, but getting an apartment/buying furniture got in the way and I only got half of them done.
Just do your best. I'm sure you will do fine. Your attitude towards the intership is very good. I wish you the best of luck.<p>BTW, update me on how it goes. Email in profile.