Amazon

If you want to learn more about how corporate life works as a programmer, getting an internship here definitely does the job.

Really the only skill you take from college (or wherever you learn coding) is experience with critical thinking and debugging.

For example, I learned a lot on Java, C++, and Python in college, but this job required me to work with Node.js, HTML, React, etc.

You get to talk with a lot of experienced people and learn more about the idea that no matter your experience level, coding is hard for all of us and we're all in this together!

Just remember, no matter how hard some things may get, you've got this.

Also, the business trips to several Amazon campuses for either quarterly meetings or all-hands meetings are impeccable; the Seattle campus is amazing!

The main downside I experienced is that sometimes, you can learn too much. Amazon works with its own versioning and build systems, and it takes a while to get used to all of that. Even at the end of my internship, I'm still struggling with some of these basic concepts. Not only that, but this is the first time I've really felt super stressed about a job. It can really be a lot for some people, and I definitely needed a lot of break time to stay sane. But that's why you always communicate to your manager and peers about that. If you need a break, say something. If you need help, say something.

All I can say is, get ready to spend a lot of time working and learning in this internship. For me, at least, it was too much to work with.

It would be a good idea to give a ton more training and exercise to introducing the tools used for making code, like learning more about Git, code reviews, and the pipeline. Having a fundamental understanding of those topics and reviewing them over and over (especially the pipeline; I still don't get it) would really help interns get acquainted with how Amazon works.

Also, we need more ways to get back into the office. My entire team was virtual and all over the country (US), making it hard to make connections. The only times I really enjoyed working was when I was on a business trip with others around me.