From Intern to Software Engineer: My Journey

When I started my first internship, I couldn't deploy code without breaking something. My pull requests were novels of confusion. I asked questions that made senior engineers pause and carefully choose their words. Today, I'm on the other side—mentoring interns and building production systems. Here's what I learned along the way.

The Intern Mindset: Embrace the Discomfort

My first day, I was handed a laptop and a Jira ticket that might as well have been written in ancient Greek. "Add pagination to the user list endpoint." I knew what pagination was. I knew what endpoints were. But I had no idea how they connected, where the code lived, or why we were doing it.

That discomfort? It never fully goes away. Even now, I encounter systems I don't understand, technologies I've never used, and problems with no clear solution. The difference is that I've learned to be comfortable being uncomfortable.

Lesson 1: Ask Questions, But Do Your Homework First

Early on, I would immediately ask a senior developer whenever I got stuck. "What does this function do?" "How do I run the tests?" These are valid questions, but I was wasting their time—and my learning opportunity.

Here's what I learned to do instead:

1. Read the code. Trace the function call. Read the comments. Check the tests.
2. Search existing documentation. READMEs, wikis, Slack history, Stack Overflow.
3. Try something. Even if it fails, you learn from the failure.
4. Formulate a specific question. "I tried X, expected Y, but got Z. What am I missing?"

This approach shows respect for others' time while demonstrating that you're actively trying to learn. Senior engineers are far more willing to help someone who's already put in effort.

Lesson 2: Code Reviews Are a Gift

My first code review was brutal. 47 comments. Everything from "variable names should be descriptive" to "this will cause a memory leak in production." I felt like a failure.

But here's what I eventually understood: every comment was free mentorship. Those senior engineers were teaching me, for free, exactly what I needed to know to become a better developer. They were investing their time in my growth.

I started treating code reviews differently:

• Don't take it personally. They're reviewing your code, not you.
• Ask "why" when you don't understand. Understanding the reasoning is more valuable than just making the change.
• Keep a list of feedback patterns. If you get the same comment twice, add it to your pre-submission checklist.
• Thank your reviewers. Seriously. Their time is valuable.

Lesson 3: Ship Something Small First

I wanted to prove myself with a big, impressive project. So I spent three weeks building a "better" logging system that nobody asked for. When I finally presented it, my manager gently explained that we already had a logging solution, and the business needed something else entirely.

Three weeks of learning, sure. But three weeks of zero impact.

The better approach: ship small, valuable changes quickly.

• Fix a small bug
• Improve documentation
• Add a test for an untested function
• Refactor a confusing piece of code

These small wins build trust, demonstrate competence, and—importantly—actually help the team. The big projects will come once you've established yourself.

Lesson 4: Understand the Business

For my first year, I thought my job was to write code. I was wrong. My job was to solve problems—code was just one tool for doing that.

Understanding why you're building something changes how you build it:

• User context matters. A feature for internal admins has different requirements than one for paying customers.
• Business metrics guide priorities. A bug affecting revenue gets fixed faster than a cosmetic issue.
• Technical debt is a business decision. Sometimes shipping fast is the right choice, even if the code isn't perfect.

Start attending product meetings. Read customer support tickets. Understand what success looks like for your company. This context will make you a dramatically better engineer.

Lesson 5: Build Relationships

Software development is a team sport. The best engineers I know aren't just technically excellent—they're people others want to work with.

• Be reliable. If you say you'll do something, do it. If you can't, communicate early.
• Help others. Share knowledge. Review code thoughtfully. Celebrate teammates' wins.
• Communicate proactively. Don't let problems surprise your manager. Bad news doesn't get better with time.
• Be curious about people. Your coworkers have interesting lives and perspectives. Get to know them.

Lesson 6: Take Care of Yourself

In my eagerness to prove myself, I worked late nights and weekends. I skipped lunches to "stay focused." I checked Slack before bed and first thing in the morning.

I burned out. Badly.

It took months to recover, and I learned an important truth: sustainable pace wins. The engineers who build the best careers aren't the ones who sprint—they're the ones who can maintain a healthy jog for decades.

• Set boundaries on working hours
• Take your vacation days
• Exercise, sleep, and eat well
• Have hobbies outside of tech
• It's okay to not check Slack after hours

What I Wish I'd Known

If I could go back and tell intern-me one thing, it would be this: You're exactly where you need to be.

The confusion is normal. The imposter syndrome is normal. The feeling that everyone else knows what they're doing and you don't? Also normal—and mostly wrong. Everyone is figuring it out as they go.

Your job isn't to know everything. It's to learn, contribute, and grow. Do those three things, and the rest will follow.

Looking Forward

The journey from intern to engineer isn't a destination—it's a direction. I'm still learning, still growing, still making mistakes and learning from them. That's the job. That's the privilege.

To anyone just starting: welcome. It gets better. It also gets harder. But mostly, it gets more rewarding. You're going to build amazing things.

Keep shipping. 🚀