What I Finally Learned Only After My 6th Internship

I finally learned what it means to be a junior engineer.

I feel that it’s kind of funny that I’ve never felt or understood what it means to be junior before. During my previous internship experiences, I’ve only ever felt that I was younger than everyone, that I didn’t know a lot, I had a lot to learn, and the fact that I was an intern and everyone else is more experienced than I am. But now I realized it’s not necessarily what it means to be a junior.

Being junior is not about not knowing what to do to accomplish something. It’s about knowing what to do, go on and do it, and most often than not stop there.

It’s about quickly thinking about the solution of a problem, instead of thinking why the problem occurs in the first place.

It’s about getting into a task or project, do it, and go to the next one. Thinking that ticking as many checkboxes as quickly as possible is the most important thing.

It’s about looking at a codebase structure and pattern that is different than what we’re used to and quickly think that it can use some improvement. Without trying to dissect why, because we do not understand that different is not equal to better or worse.

It’s about not being curious enough, even when we know that as junior engineers, we should be the most curious.

Before this latest internship, I’ve been doing all these without realizing that I was doing it. After this internship, I still have all of these traits but the difference is, now I realize that I’m doing all these things. Due to that realization, I’m able to ask more questions to other people from all other levels on what they do that makes them different than other engineers in different levels. I’m not saying that I’ve learned the lessons on how to improve on this, I’m saying that now I know what questions to ask.

I’m writing this post (again) as a reflection note. The total of time that I’ve spent on internships is equal to more than 1,5 years. It takes me that much time to realize what it’s like to be junior. It’s just very interesting to finally be able to observe my own way of thinking. Now when I’m accepting tasks or projects that seem to be exciting to implement almost immediately, I can hear a voice at the back of my head saying ”See, you didn’t even stop to think why you should do it, you get so excited and you say yes yes yes”.

It’s like discovering another thing about myself. Anticipating myself making newbie mistakes even before it happens.

It’s kind of fun watching yourself notice a rock from a mile away and still you tripped over. But In the end, you learn something.

I hope it didn’t take much of your time reading about me finally realizing that I’m a noob.

I create this little space on the internet to write my thoughts and reflections on being a human, a woman, and a software developer. I don't have Instagram/Twitter but I can be found on LinkedIn. Feel free to contact/give feedback/tell me your story through my email: ivanaairenee@gmail.com