Yuav ua li cas kom tau ib lub internship tech

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: Dab tsi ntxiv mus?

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?

Kuv Khan Academy Internship, Lub caij ntuj sov ' 15

This summer, I left the friendly confines of Cambridge and journeyed out West to strike it rich intern as a software engineer at Khan Academy. And that’s not quite doing it justice: it was a totally transformative experience.

Salman Khan of Khan Academy
With the awesome Sal Khan, the founder of Khan Academy

Awesome projects

I grew a ton as a software engineer by working with my mentor on such cool projects as:
Creating SEO’d landing pages for our videos
Building a feature to send users notification emails whenever their questions on our videos get answered, working closely with a designer
Tracking down and fixing bugs in our new video player

Luam tawm tsab, zoo li, thiab nrhiav: lub tsev ib qhib thiab curated ecosystem

Most ecosystems such as app stores are either open or curated. But why can’t we have both? Qhov tshij, we canall you need is three verbs: publish, find, thiab zoo li. That goes for technology and anything else.

Usually there are two options when you want to publish an app: publish it to something like the iOS App Store (where people will find your app, but Apple reviewers can deny your submission) or just put it on your website (where it’s easy to publish, but there’s no guarantee anyone will see it.) 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 thiab 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 publish, find, thiab zoo li.

Curated vs. open ecosystems

The iOS App Store and open internet, among others, are app ecosystemsplaces 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.

5 dawb productivity invaluable apps kev kawm ntawv qib siab

A few years ago I wrote about useful apps for high schoolbut now college is here, and it brings a whole new set of demands. Txij li thaum I arrived at Harvard, I’ve had to do more, and my apps have had to do more too.

These new apps need to run on all platforms (Qhov rai, Mac, Android, iOS no), sync seamlessly between them, and help me keep my data organized. They have to be versatile, robust, thiab easy-to-use. And they have to be 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.

Nthuav qhia tus kheej hauv internet: ib cov hybrid mus kom ze?

Hauv internet yuav tsum pab koj qhia koj tus kheej tau yooj yim thiab ua kom koj muaj kev tswj lub ntsiab lus thiab tsis zoo ntawm koj writings. Tab sis, yog tias tej zaum?

Hauv internet yuav tsum tau hu ua lub platform poj kev nthuav qhia tus kheej. Cov ntaubntawv mus tias koj lawm yuav tau tuav thiab muaj hmoo ces tau koj qhov chaw ua hauj lwm rau hauv ib phau ntawv los yog ntawv xov xwm lossis magazine; leej twg yuav luam tawm tsab dab tsi rau hauv internet, thiab yog hais tias nws zoo txaus, nws yuav tau nyob.

Nws twb twv yuav raug hu nws muaj tseeb tias cov nqi nthuav qhia tus kheej tau ncaim rau hauv internet, ces neeg no ntau npaum li cas yuav tsis pom thiab tau siv luam tawm tsab lawv lub tswv yim. (Lub tswv yim ntawm cov nqi economic, los yog tus nqi dag zog uas yuav siv ua ib yam dab tsi, yog ib tug haib heev, raws li. Thaum nws tau ua tej yam yooj yim, tshaj plaws uas cia li tawg nyob rau hauv tej chaw. Nws tseem zoo nkauj self-evident, tiam sis nws yog ib txoj kev haib ntawm saib tej yam xws li tus sawv kev nthuav qhia tus kheej rau hauv internet.)

Muaj ob txoj kev uas ntawm publishing ntsiab lus hauv internet:

  • Publishing ntawm nws tus kheej (ua koj lub platform)
  • Siv lwm tus lub platform (hosted publishing)

Ob leeg tsim muaj cov caij nplooj zeeg q lub hom phiaj ntawm qhov uas yuav yooj yim rau lawv tus kheej publishing. kuv xav li, ho, uas yog ib hybrid uas yuav coj qhov zoo tshaj plaws ob yig.

Rau “kev” Media, tsis muaj zog ties, thiab Snapchat dab neeg

How social media is designed to help you build relationships with acquaintances, and why Snapchat (yes, 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 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 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.