Half-way through internship

It has been a great 6 weeks at Google. I had a check-in with my host last week on how things were going, my experience thus far.

Google makes it a point to do this to ensure that interns have an opportunity to receive timely inputs. Overall my experience so far has been great. 

I have had a chance to share my interim findings and am now on to my implementation phase. What this really means is interns get an opportunity to do meaningful work and really immerse themselves in the culture of the place. I am beginning to get a hang of how things are done here and am able to navigate my way around.

On the fun side of things, we have quite a lot of intern activities that are going on which gives me a chance to meet other interns. A few of us are going to watch a movie, get dinner in the city and really get to know each other. All the interns have such informal groups. We have frequent sharing sessions with other interns and this also gives an opportunity for all of us to understand or at least get a glimpse of the projects other interns are doing.

I had a chance to meet the OCD Director last week together with an alumnus who is working at Google. We had a great conversation about his perception of Ross.

On a personal front, I bought my new car and it is amazing! I went to the Indian temple nearby and did the necessary ‘Pooja’ (prayers) – this is part of the Indian tradition. Over the last few weeks, I have also had a chance to connect with some of my high-school friends from India who are now working in the Bay area!

A great few weeks I must say! 

Expecting the Unexpected!!

The Valley is reputed to be one of those places where “creative destruction” takes place @ a faster rate than anywhere else on earth. Words that come to your mind are:

Innovation

Disruption

Computers

Ideas

Progress

New

The tech industry based in Silicon Valley employs some of the smartest people I’ve met.  My internship experience leads me to believe that most engineers and managers in the Valley in general come from top schools world-wide. They represent over 100 different nationalities from across the globe. This reminds me of the ancient Indian (Sanskrit) saying:   

वसुधैव कुटुम्बक  - Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – The whole world is one family!

There are however no pre-set qualifications, smart people from across the globe with no formal qualifications other than an undergrad are successful here . The incredible magnet that Silicon Valley is you would think that it’s “an all work, no play lifestyle”. Right? Wrong!!!!!

Here’s what you probably never expected: most companies in the Tech industry offer great life styles -  plenty of freebies (perks) such as free meals, free snacks etc, half day work on Fridays  and  a work –life balance that is un-paralleled in most professions world-wide.

So how does my internship experience compare (from someone with first-hand experience)?

No standard work hours – just get your work done, show initiative, drive performance and results!

Thank God it’s Friday – carnivals, shows, concerts, bands etc

Cafes – plenty to choose from and an array of choices! 

Snack Bars!

WFH -Work from Home is not frowned upong (as long as you get the work done, attend meetings!)

A few notes below that will give prospective international students a greater feel for the tech industry:

Job Hopping:

A key driver for rapid innovation in the Silicon Valley as AnnaLee Saxenian, author of Regional Advantage: Culture and Competition in Silicon Valley and Route 128, puts it is

"Job-hopping, rather than climbing the career ladder within a corporation, facilitates flows of information and know-how between individuals, firms, and industries. When combined with venture capital, it supports unanticipated recombinations of technologies and skill.

Old vs New , Consulting vs Tech:

While consulting firms and consultants focuses on old age economies and traditional business models and processes, the valley focuses on start-ups, developing new processes and innovative business models.

Many Careers:

You don’t program all your life, neither are you into sales all your life in the Tech Industry.

In this video (click here), Tim Draper, managing director of Draper Fisher Jurvetson, talks about the California's Silicon Valleyand about many careers in the tech industry! 

In my next post, I shall talk about enjoying the internship experience - it is such a fleeting moment!

Taking the most out of it!

Hi all,

I would like to introduce myself. I'm Douglas Storf, a rising MBA2 and will be spending my summer at Amazon in Seattle where I'll be managing a product called S3 at the Amazon Web Services group. I'm really excited about the opportunity. One of my goals when I came Ross was to have an working experience with marketing at a High-tech company, preferably outside Brazil (my home country). I can say it is mission accomplished: not only I got a Marketing position at Amazon in Seattle, I only got a MAP project at Google in London!

After spending the last 6 weeks working and living in London, getting back to Ann Arbor had a contrasting impact on me: I'm happy to be back to where I now call home, but I know I'll miss Europe.

This week is the last week of the first year and is definitely a time for reflections. We are just getting ready for our internship experiences while our friends from the second year are getting ready for their full time experiences. "It will go fast" That is what I was told before coming to B-School. "It went too fast" That is what our MBA2 colleagues are saying now and I second their voice! I'm doing my best to take the most out of this experience but I find it inevitable to have a taste in my mouth that I am still missing a lot!

The internship is not going to be any different: it will go supper fast, I'll do my best to take the most out of it, I'll still get the feeling I'm leaving a lot behind! I guess I'm getting used to that!