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?

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CS50: What Next?

Note: 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?

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Kula Khan Academy Internship, Panas '15

Iki panas, Nilar kungkungan grapyak Cambridge lan budhal metu West serangan iku sugih intern minangka insinyur piranti lunak ing Khan Academy. Lan sing ora cukup mengkono iku kaadilan: iku pengalaman babar blas transformative.

Salman Khan of Khan Academy
Karo apik tenan Sal Khan, pangadeg Khan Academy

Proyèk Awesome

Aku tansaya ton minangka insinyur lunak kanthi nggarap guru ing proyèk kelangan kayata:
– Nggawe kaca landing SEO'd kanggo video kita
– Bangunan fitur kanggo ngirim pangguna email kabar kapan pitakonan sing ing video kita njaluk semaur, apa rapet karo desainer
– Nelusuri mudhun lan mbenakake kewan omo ing pamuter video anyar kita

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Nerbitaké, kaya, lan golek: bangunan lan ekosistem mbukak lan Series

Paling ekosistem kayata toko app iku salah siji mbukak utawa Series. Nanging kok ora kita bisa duwe loro? Uga, kita bisa — kabeh sing perlu iku telung kriyo: nerbitaké, golek, lan kaya. Sing dadi teknologi lan tindakan liya.

Biasane ana rong opsi yen sampeyan pengin nerbitaké app: nerbitaké menyang kaya iOS App Store (ngendi wong bakal nemokake app, nanging pengulas Apple bisa lali pengajuan) utawa mung sijine iku ing website (ngendi iku gampang kanggo nerbitaké, nanging ana ora njamin sapa bakal ndeleng iku.) Not the greatest set of options.

Isn’t there a way to combine the strengths of both of these to make for the best possible experience for both publishers and consumers? I think there is. It’s called an open and curated ecosystem. Let’s take a look at:

  • What open lan curated ecosystems are
  • Examples of open and curated ecosystems
  • What you need to make an open and curated ecosystem
  • Examples of these ecosystems beyond just technology

and see if we can discover something about the power of crowdsourcing, innovation, and the three verbs nerbitaké, golek, lan kaya.

Curated vs. open ecosystems

The iOS App Store and open internet, among others, are app ecosystems — places where apps can be published and found. And I think the big factors that differentiate one ecosystem from another are whether the ecosystem is open, where anyone can publish apps and whether it is curated, where the best apps rise to the top and users are assured quality apps. That’s the major difference between the iOS store and the internet at large, which I mentioned earlier.

Let’s look at examples of curated and open ecosystems and what differentiates them.

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5 invaluable app produktivitas gratis kanggo College

A sawetara taun kepungkur aku wrote bab app migunani kanggo sekolah — nanging saiki College punika, lan ndadekke pesawat anyar kabèh panjaluk. Wiwit Aku mlebu ing Harvard, Aku wis tau apa liyane, lan app sandi wis kanggo nindakake liyane banget.

Iki app anyar kudu mbukak ing kabeh platform (Windows, Mac, Android, iOS), nyelarasake seamlessly antarane wong-wong mau, lan bantuan kula tetep sandi data diatur. Padha kudu dadi Versatile, API, lan gampang-kanggo-nggunakake. Lan wong-wong kudu free.

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 free, essential apps for college: Evernote, Wunderlist, Mailbox, Sunrise, and Pocket.
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Self-expression on the internet: a hybrid approach?

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, by the way. 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.)

There are 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. I think, though, that there’s room for a hybrid that would bring the best of both.

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On “social” media, weak ties, and Snapchat stories

How social media is designed to help you build relationships with acquaintances, and why Snapchat (inggih, 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 narcissistic – you’re swapping carefully-chosen selfies with others to try and win favor – but 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 instance, 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 of “hooks,” 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.

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