Advice to software development interns

http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/philg/2015/06/19/advice-to-software-development-interns/

by tjr • 11 years ago

21 14 11 years ago

blogs.law.harvard.edu

aerovistae• 11 years ago

Was this published with the intern's permission?? I have a hard time upvoting this when it's kind of derogatory and personal. It doesn't come across as "advice" so much as complaining about an employee.

brodney• 11 years ago

It reads to me like a self important rant. I don't know what the author tried to do to resolve these issues, but the tone of the article doesn't make me optimistic.

agounaris• 11 years ago

The author should also learn that hiring a 18y old "kid" means also that this person is in need of mentoring first! This guy hired an intern and he expected him to act like an actual productive employee.

(since when interns should learn to edit with emacs?)

shiggerino2• 11 years ago

I don't see a problem with having interns learn Emacs, but he should probably look into a better version control and deployment strategy than editing files on the server.

tjr• 11 years ago

Knowing a bit about Philip's methodology, that statement was not necessarily referring to editing text on the live web server, but more likely just referring to SSH'ing into a Unix system to do development work.

RogerL• 11 years ago

The person was an 18 years old intern. Its your job to teach them, not let them do all this and then complain publicly about it. Internship is not cheap labor; it's a mutual relationship where you help train the next generation because either you are nice or because you realize that if you don't do it there will not be a pool of experienced applicants to choose from. Ask "what can I do for this intern" - if they do something for you as well, great! If not, it's still okay.

And, no, you don't own my life, and there is more to it than arranging bits so you can get rich off my labor. There is no need to structure jobs such that our lives and relationships are destroyed.

joezydeco• 11 years ago

Oh come on. Read that article again.

"He had taken AP Computer Science, a Python programming course in high school, and Harvard’s CS50...In addition to this academic training he arrived with a vast expertise on building Windows-based PCs, especially for gaming."

So we know this kid has had some previous experience. You make certain assumptions that he knows his way around a PC, especially if he's building gaming rigs. Not something you learn in a vacuum. Oh yeah, and he got admitted to Harvard University. But then:

"use Google and Web-based resources before interrupting the person who hired you, e.g., if you want to know how to do something in Emacs for which crib sheets are readily available on the Web and can be printed out"

So yeah, Phil is complaining here but I think he's right. If I went through the trouble of screening and bringing on someone that gave the impression of competency, then shouldn't he know how to solve the small problems by himself? Phil is red-flagging himself that this intern is just going to be a time sink rather than a help. He's also lamenting that kids that get into Harvard are lacking some of the self-sufficiency tools that are key to a successful college and post-collegiate career.

aaggarwal• 11 years ago

The title is misleading though, it's more like reproach in poor spirit rather than advice.

k-mcgrady• 11 years ago

I don't think the OP understands what an intern is. Sounds like he just wanted to hire a someone for cheap and thought this was a good way to do it.

clueless123• 11 years ago

As I understand it, an internship is supposed to be a mutually beneficial arrangement where the intern gets valuable experience and the employer gets cheap labor, and a chance to try a potential future employee.

Maybe the intern had different expectations of what he/she was getting out of the deal. (I have a hard time thinking that a (not CS major) Harvard student objective is to become a "software developer")

quadyeast• 11 years ago

"The most effective developers simply won’t quit until a problem is solved. One reason I think programmers often stay up until 2 or 3 am is that it bothers us if something isn’t working. So we keep at it until we collapse."

I've learned that this is not an effective way to tackle hard problems. Take a break, go to bed, take a walk.

cosmolev• 11 years ago

So, where can we read "Advice to software development employers who hire 18yo interns"?

btw, I would have never hired 18yo me

lewisl9029• 11 years ago

Speaking as someone who has done internships for 7 different companies (we call them co-ops here in Canada), perhaps this feedback would have been more valuable for both parties if it was disclosed to the intern privately during his work term as he was making these mistakes.

Many of the social/workplace norms you might take for granted in a new hire are definitely not obvious for someone entering the workforce for the first time in his life.

Speaking from personal experience, a bit of patience, empathy and well-meaning advice would benefit these junior developers much more than ranting on a public medium with a tone that's obviously full of bitterness and spite. You will also end up getting a much better employee in the process, both during the work term as he improves his behavior as well as in the future when he may return to work for you full time.

Advice to software development interns

Related Stories