Atomic Object’s intern program is unlike most within the tech industry. Generally, both clients and the company hosting the intern do not utilize the intern’s full talent. However, Atomic Object (Atomic) has worked hard to develop an intern program that provides more value to the interns and clients than a typical internship program.
The Atomic internship program’s model is structured more like an apprenticeship. Interns work under the guidance and care of a “wizard,” one of Atomic’s senior software developers. The wizard finds projects to assign the intern, which can be either projects the wizard is working on or projects other developers are working on. This provides the intern with more experience and variety than your typical internship program as he/she works on whichever projects the developer may be currently involved with. Atomic interns have worked on everything from automated system tests to iPhone games, an assortment which gives the intern an opportunity to contribute in meaningful, not menial ways. Along with the challenge of working on a wide range of projects, interns are often invited to follow their wizard to client meetings—essentially shadowing their mentor.
This model gives the interns a true taste of real world work experience, providing them with an opportunity to experience all the intellectual and creative facets of the development process, instead of just the routine “work” portion of the business. This prepares interns to confidently interact with clients and instills the mores that go with business interactions.
Atomic also benefits from the internship program in a variety of ways. In addition to having an extra set of hands to assist the senior developer, the internship program also gives Atomic a link to a talent pool, by establishing connections with college students and schools. Atomic’s positive reputation among employees and interns has led to a number of new staff members, which is beneficial to both the interns and Atomic Object.
2 Comments
To whom it may concern,
I recently read your post on Twitter and I am extremely interested in an internship position with your company. A career in software development is precisely what I am pursuing, and an opportunity to get some hands-on experience within a top-rated firm is great news in these unfortunate times. Please email me and let me know what I need to do to be accepted into your program.
Travis,
Glad to hear you are interested in an internship at Atomic. You can find out what it takes to become part of the team here “http://www.atomicobject.com/pages/Working+at+Atomic+Object”:http://www.atomicobject.com/pages/Working+at+Atomic+Object
One Trackback
[...] in this blog (note the posts from past interns), starting with Mike’s succinct post on what makes our internship program special–see also Carl’s interesting internship / apprenticeship figures on our track [...]