Finding an internship is something almost every student has to go through. Sometimes it happens quickly, but for me it turned into a search that lasted three to four months. The longer it took, the more uncertain I became. It was not just the applications themselves, but mainly the feeling that nobody was willing to give me that first real opportunity.
Looking back, I can also admit that I could have prepared myself better. I did not yet have enough personal projects or material to clearly show what I could do. At the same time, I noticed that some companies were looking for more experience and technical knowledge than I had at that point in my studies. Eventually, about a month before my internship was due to begin, I finally found a place.
I was relieved. The search was over. What I did not know yet was that the internship itself would turn out very differently from what I had imagined.
Trying to get that first opportunity
During my internship search, uncertainty was probably the hardest part. I contacted companies, sent applications and tried to find a place where I could gain my first real experience as a developer. Again and again, I ran into the same issue: experience. Some companies were looking for knowledge that I was still in the process of building as a student.
There were also moments during the search that left me frustrated. Appointments were sometimes postponed or communication happened at unusual times. As a student looking for a first opportunity, situations like that can quickly make you question yourself. At the same time, I now realise that I could have done more before starting my search.
More personal projects, more self-study and exploring technologies outside the curriculum would have given me more confidence and more to show.
Finally, an internship
Eventually, I posted on LinkedIn that I was still looking for an internship. That post led me to the company where I would eventually complete my internship. When I heard that I could start there, I was genuinely happy. After months of searching, the uncertainty finally seemed to be over.
At that point, I mainly thought about everything I was going to learn. I expected to spend a lot of time coding, perhaps discover a new programming language and pick up tips and tricks from developers with more experience. I also wanted to understand what a normal working day as a developer looked like and meet people working in the industry.
For me, an internship was supposed to be the moment when what I had learned at school finally connected with professional practice.
Different from what I had imagined
The company was still small and the working environment was quite different from what I had pictured beforehand. There was no large office or development team around us. We worked from a small workspace, which made the experience feel very different from the typical software company I had imagined. Luckily, I was not the only intern, so I had someone going through the same experience with me.
Most of our work focused on WordPress. We worked with existing themes, adjusted websites and used tools such as Elementor. There is nothing wrong with learning WordPress, but during a three-month programming internship I had expected to spend more time actually programming.
I was also introduced to some C++ and parts of an MVC structure. I did learn a few new concepts, such as scaffolding, but I often missed the deeper explanation behind what I was seeing. I wanted to understand not only how something worked, but also why it was built that way.
What I missed most was guidance
What I found most difficult was not necessarily the technology, but the lack of structure and regular guidance. The assignments themselves were usually manageable, but I did not always understand what I was supposed to learn from them. There were also moments when we needed access to certain tools or systems before we could continue, and that sometimes took longer than expected.
I had less direct contact with my mentor than I had hoped for. Part of the day-to-day guidance came from someone else in the team who also had technical knowledge.
Still, I missed having someone with more experience who could regularly explain decisions, review what I was doing and help me understand how things would normally be handled in a professional development team. We also had some contact with developers working remotely from abroad, but differences in working hours sometimes made that collaboration more difficult. After a while, I started to feel that I was not getting as much out of the internship as I had hoped.
Not every valuable experience teaches you how to do something. Sometimes it teaches you what you need in order to grow.
Feeling like I was standing still
I find it difficult to spend a lot of time on something without feeling that I am making progress. During the internship, there were moments when I genuinely wondered what I was learning and whether I was using my time well.
At the same time, I was also combining my studies with a student job. Some meetings took place in the evening, which occasionally meant joining another call after an already long day.
I tried to ask questions, give feedback and take initiative where I could, but not everything was within my control. I was also going through a difficult period in my personal life at the time. That situation did not directly affect the internship, but I had hoped that the internship would give me something challenging to focus on. Because I often felt that I was not learning as much as I wanted, it was harder to fully lose myself in the work.
My coach told me to be patient
During that period, my coach at school became an important source of support. I regularly talked to her about my frustrations and about the feeling that I was not learning enough.
She kept telling me to be patient. She reminded me that an internship does not only have to teach you technical skills. Sometimes the experience itself teaches you something about the way you work and what you need from an environment. She told me that I might look back on the experience differently later. At the time, I did not fully understand what she meant.
Now I do.
Those conversations helped me keep going and look at the situation from another perspective.
I learned what matters to me
If someone asked me today which programming language I mastered during my internship, I would not have a spectacular answer. Technically, it was not the period in which I learned the most during my studies. But I did learn things that have stayed with me. I discovered how important structure is to me.
I learned how much difference good guidance can make, especially when you are still at the beginning of your career. I also discovered that I am more independent than I thought and that I can remain patient when things do not go according to plan. Most importantly, I started to understand what kind of working environment suits me.
I want to work in a team with different levels of experience, from junior to senior, where people can ask questions, share knowledge and learn from each other. I also realised that I enjoy having a real workplace and colleagues around me. Those are things I probably would not have thought about as much if my internship had gone exactly as expected.
What I would do differently today
If I had to look for an internship again today, I would approach it differently. I would start earlier with personal projects instead of relying mainly on assignments from school. I would also look more closely at what we were not learning in class.Which technologies are companies actually using? What do they expect from junior developers? And where are the gaps in my own knowledge?
I would use self-study to work on those areas before starting my search. An education gives you a foundation, but I have learned that you also have to take responsibility for how far you want to develop beyond that foundation. My internship was not the experience I had imagined, but it did help me understand what I expect from myself, my work and the people around me. Looking back, that still makes it a valuable part of my journey.
It was not the internship I had imagined, but it helped me understand the kind of developer and professional I want to become.