The days start in a time frame I'd define as early. Although my first few days off summer have me bleary eyed and coffee addicted, it's good to get a taste of the real world. Unless you are in the school district no one gets the summer off. It's hard but worth it. Every morning I walk through the office door and the office is always occupied. It reminds me that everyone else had an earlier start to their day and dealt with more traffic. This lets me be grateful to my 8am alarm. As an intern with basically no previous knowledge on Computer Science or Information Technology its difficult to not feel overwhelmed. I'd describe it as if I was dropped in a foreign country and I don't speak the language. And just like being around a foreign language, I adjust. The big words that seemed daunting the first day, are not so scary next. I start picking up on certain words and solving some internal puzzles. Although I feel way in over my head, the team helps out as much as they can to clarify the topics. This is the good thing about being an intern. I am allowed to know nothing. By coming in with no previous experience an intern can ask basically everything. This is how and intern learns.
During an internship the intern is always learning. They could walk in to a company, not touch a single thing, and still learn. You see there are two aspects of an office. One is the job. What does the company do and how do they achieve their goals. This is why students tend to pick internships that relates to their major (or in my case intended major). For example I intend to major in Computer Science, so I picked an internship in Information Technology. Not exactly the same, but similar. By doing this I can gain real life experience in my chosen field. Although its nice to be in a company that relates to your interest it is not necessary. The second part of being an intern is learning just how to be in a work space. Every work space has a different atmosphere. An intern gets to see teamwork. The office safe place were people can brainstorm there ideas to get their work done. There is also conversation patterns. Sometimes there is constant chatter. Everyone is bouncing ideas off each other or just socializing, but as soon as it comes it goes and everyone is back to work. It's these little things that people need to pick up on. These social cues on when its okay to talk. I think some people take these little things for granted. As an intern you might also receive suggestions. Recommendations are also extremely helpful. People in the office can refer you to a book or other media in which you can learn more about the area. Being the intern lets you keep your head down and just observe. Listening in and paying attention to the office interacting with each other is not only fascinating but also very helpful. By doing this not only do you learn about the office but also the desired topic. When you listen you can form questions which can and will be answered.
I've been an intern at iuvo Technologies for about a month now and I have learned so much in both aspects. On my second day here I had to take inventory on shelves of hardware. That day I could honestly say I had no idea what a single thing was or its function. Now I might be able to tell you a about couple items and what they do. It's not a lot, but its something and its worth knowing. On the second week I got to make floor plans for a consultant. Although this task probably was tedious for him, to me it was new and exciting. this is the benefit of having an intern. The work that seems horrible to the company is new and a challenge for the intern. I actually found it kind of fun and I felt really productive. I gained experience on a new application, got to see some tasks a IT consultant has to do, and learned a thing or two about the types of clients. By asking questions I know a little more than I did the day before and though I might not totally understand the topic, having some idea to what they're talking about helps. I pick up on words being used more than once and can piece together a definition. Another bonus to my internship is while they answer my questions, patiently I will add, they also give me tips for success. I've been given names of great books on technology and two online classes that can prepare me for college. I'm far from being able to code or fix anything, but from interning here I've gained so much and the summer's barley started. So far I'm not changing majors so I'm thinking this internship is going to be a success.
Sophia Armstrong (Intern at iuvo Technologies)