How to get a tech internship

Field-tested job-hunting tips for computer science students.

Also check out my post on getting started with computer science for college students.

Google headquarters

I probably don’t need to convince you that working at tech companies is really attractive. You can work with startups on meteoric rises and world-famous tech giants, all while surrounded by ping-pong tables and unlimited snacks. You can build apps that your friends use and products that make the world a better place.

There’s just one problem: how do you get a tech internship in the first place?

CS50: What Next?

Bemærk: this post is aimed mostly at Harvard students.

CS50 logo

So you took Harvard’s introductory computer science class, CS50. (Maybe you were a regular at my section or met me at office hours.) You learned a lot, you enjoyed it, and you want to continue exploring computer science. Maybe you want to concentrate in CS, get a minor, get an internship at a tech company, or better understand how computers are going to take over the world.

But CS is a huge field, and with just one course under your belt, it’s difficult to really break into it.

So what next?

Min Khan Academy Praktik, Sommer '15

Denher sommer, Jeg forlod de venlige rammerne af Cambridge og rejste ud vest til stryge den rige praktikant som en software ingeniør på Khan Academy. Og det er ikke helt gøre det retfærdighed: Det var en helt transformative oplevelse.

Salman Khan of Khan Academy
Med den awesome Sal Khan, grundlæggeren af ​​Khan Academy

Awesome projekter

Jeg voksede et ton som en software ingeniør ved at arbejde med min mentor på sådanne fede projekter som:
– Oprettelse SEO'd destinationssider for vores videoer
– Opbygning af en funktion til at sende brugerne meddelelser emails når deres spørgsmål om vores videoer bliver besvaret, arbejder tæt sammen med en designer
– Opspore og fastsættelse af fejl i vores nye video-afspiller

Udgiv, ligesom, og find: opbygge et åbent og kurateret økosystem

De fleste økosystemer som app stores er enten åbne eller kurateret. Men hvorfor kan vi ikke have begge? Nå, vi kan — alt du behøver er tre verber: udgive, finde, og ligesom. Det gælder for teknologi og alt andet.

Normalt er der to muligheder, når du ønsker at udgive en app: udgive det til noget i retning af iOS App Store (hvor folk vil finde din app, men Apple korrekturlæsere kan benægte din indsendelse) eller bare sætte det på din hjemmeside (hvor det er nemt at udgive, men der er ingen garanti nogen vil se det.) Ikke den største sæt af muligheder.

Er der ikke en måde at kombinere de stærke sider ved begge disse til at gøre for den bedst mulige oplevelse for både udgivere og forbrugere? Jeg tror, ​​der er. Det kaldes en åben og kurateret økosystem. Lad os tage et kig på:

  • Hvad åbne og kurateret økosystemer er
  • Eksempler på åbne og kurateret økosystemer
  • Hvad du behøver at gøre en åben og kurateret økosystem
  • Eksempler på disse økosystemer ud bare teknologi

og se om vi kan finde noget om magt crowdsourcing, innovation, og de tre verber udgive, finde, og ligesom.

Kurateret vs. åbne økosystemer

Den iOS App Store og åbne internet, bl.a., er app økosystemer — steder, hvor apps kan offentliggøres og fundet. Og jeg tror, ​​de store faktorer, der adskiller et økosystem fra et andet er, om økosystemet er åbne, hvor alle kan udgive apps og om det er kurateret, hvor de bedste apps stige til toppen, og brugerne er sikret kvalitet apps. Det er den store forskel mellem iOS butikken og internettet som helhed, som jeg nævnte tidligere.

Lad os se på eksempler på curated og åbne økosystemer, og hvad der adskiller dem.

5 uvurderlige gratis produktivitet apps til kollegiet

For nogle år siden skrev jeg om nyttige apps til gymnasiet — men nu college er her, og det bringer et helt nyt sæt af krav. Siden Jeg ankom til Harvard, Jeg har haft at gøre mere, og mine apps har haft at gøre mere for.

Disse nye apps er nødt til at køre på alle platforme (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS), synkronisere problemfrit mellem dem, og hjælpe mig med at holde min data organiseret. De skal være alsidig, robust, og let at bruge. Og de skal være fri.

With that in mind, here are the five apps that I’ve relied on most at Harvard and that I recommend to anyone in college or anywhere else in life. They’re ranked in order of usefulness.

Evernote, Wunderlist, Mailbox, Sunrise, Pocket
5 fri, essential apps for college: Evernote, Wunderlist, Mailbox, Sunrise, and Pocket.

Selvudfoldelse på internettet: en hybrid fremgangsmåde?

The internet should help you express yourself easily and ensure you have control over the content and quality of your writings. But is that possible?

The internet has always been called the great platform for self-expression. The claim goes that you no longer need to be talented and lucky enough to get your work into a book or newspaper or magazine; anyone can publish anything to the internet, and if it’s good enough, it can get found.

It’s definitely true that the cost of self-expression has gone down with the internet, so people are much more likely and able to use it to publish their ideas. (The idea of economic cost, or amount of effort it takes to do something, is a very powerful one, ved den måde. When it gets easier to do something, that thing explodes in popularity. It’s pretty self-evident, but it’s a powerful way of looking at things like the rise of self-expression with the internet.)

Der er two main ways of publishing content online:

  • Publishing independently (making your own platform)
  • Using someone else’s platform (hosted publishing)

Both of these fall short of the goal of allowing for easy self-publishing. Jeg tror, skønt, at there’s room for a hybrid that would bring the best of both.

På “social” medier, svage bånd, og Snapchat historier

How social media is designed to help you build relationships with acquaintances, and why Snapchat (ja, that Snapchat) is the most effective social media platform

It was late enough that I’d stopped thinking for the night, so I proudly proclaimed to my nearby friends that I was getting a Snapchat account. It had always struck me as a bit vapid and narcissisticyou’re swapping carefully-chosen selfies with others to try and win favorbut I figured I’d give it a go.

But I quickly learned that Snapchat, like any other social media platform, gives rise to a number of use cases that the creators probably never intended. (For eksempel, Twitter probably never foresaw that it would contribute to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.) What I saw was this: Snapchat and other social media platforms are surprisingly effective ways to grow and maintain your network of weak ties (acquaintances) by reducing the costs of communication and increasing the number ofhooks,” or chances to strike up conversation, you have. All social media can do this, but Snapchat, by its very nature, is the king of this.