Oh how the time has come and gone! A Middle-Mark Reflection of Two Interns

Friday, October 14, 2011

Two IBM interns, Elton De Souza and Taehoon Andrew Kim reflect on their work experience as the middle-mark of their 16 month internship is upon them.


What is your role at IBM?

Elton: Currently, I am an intern at the JTC (Java Technology Center) in Ottawa. I play with the memory manager of the J9 virtual machine aka The Garbage Collector. In past lives, I have been an Extreme Blue intern at JTC which (sadly) ended a month ago.


Andrew: I work in the DB2 Information Development and Management department. I help communicate between the developers and the customers. I write technical, conceptual and related topics to help educate the customers of DB2 product. I spend fair amount of time understanding the product that I have to present. I am also an active member of the Future Blue 'Career & Development' team as well as the communications team.

What skills you have picked up so far during your internship?


Elton: As part of the EB program, I picked up some essential “startup skills”. By that I mean taking an idea and converting it into a marketable product. My summer responsibilities included code hackery and countless presentations to developers and business executives. The icing on the cake was a pitch to top tier managers at the IBM headquarters in New York. It really builds up your confidence when you’re amidst great minds.


My current position, being more of a technical nature, has taught me the value of quality, reliability and team work in software engineering. Every line of code counts and enterprise clients will not accept anything less than the very best.


Andrew : I've learned to initiate rather than waiting for a call for action, look for answers that I don't understand, and participate to gain the experience that IBM has to offer. I've learned to work with a large group of people who are just as technical and motivated to solve a global issue that needed to be addressed.


What technologies have you learned or become more familiar with?


Elton: My list of buzz-word compliant technologies can go on and on, but to keep it short, I work with distributed systems and low-level system programming. These come together to give you the “cloud” in all its SaaS, PasS, IaaS glory. The technologies I have become familiar with are all what makes the word “cloud” tick.


Andrew : I've learned that we all work as a part of a big puzzle, each piece is different but is needed to complete our goal. As more puzzles fits together, we get a clearer understanding of what we are doing. I've gained valuable experience working as a team to solve an issue. I've learned how IBM products co-exist to solve a business challenge. In addition to this, I've taken a DB2 academic certification course.


What networks/friends you have established?


Elton: My network spans from fellow interns to full timers including team leads, STSM's, DE's, Chief Architects, Senior Managers, Directors and VP's.


Andrew : Working together as 'Career & Development Mentorship Program' as a connection coach, I've had the chance to work with one of the best and brightest people at IBM. Future Blue organized activities and TIC (Toronto IBM Club) gave me opportunities to meet students outside of Ontario. My mentors (work and from C&D Mentorship program) from IBM have also introduced me to a different people outside of my department. Everyone here enjoys a quick conversation and they randomly drop by to say hello.


How comfortable are you in your role at IBM now? Compared to when you started?


Elton: My career at IBM began with Extreme Blue and EB forces you to be comfortable – anywhere. As long as IBM has customers with challenging technological problems to solve, I will always be comfortable in whatever position I am in.


Andrew : It was nerve-wracking at first, with all the procedure, security and requirement, but it feels quite at home after couple of months. Because many of the lab employees are students, the environment can be relaxed but fast-paced at the same time. There is a strong sense of professionalism between students and employees. There are always new thing to learn everyday with TechTalk and CASCON. There is just never a dull moment at work.