A Summer at Yeti

Sure, I learned about dealing with customers and coworkers, but I didn’t gain much experience that pertained to computer science, my desired line of work. So when I was given the opportunity to apply at Yeti as a summer intern, I took advantage immediately. I got the job, and have been working here for about three months now, though I will be finishing up by the end of August.

Working at Yeti has taught me a lot about the real world: full time work days, the dreaded morning and afternoon commute, communication in the workplace, and even a bit of manual labor. It is this experience and the hard work itself that makes me value this job.

One of the most important things I learned at Yeti was how difficult this line of work can be. I have been programming since I was a sophomore in highschool, so I am no stranger to debugging things. However, at Yeti, the stakes got higher, and the bugs got bigger. They required a bit more problem solving than just removing a divde-by-zero error. In addition to removing bugs, I have been dealing with a whole variety of languages, frameworks, and libraries. Overall, dealing with the coding work has helped me appreciate hard work. It can be extremely difficult at times, but the payoff at the end is all worth it.

At Yeti, I was also given responsibilities in the workplace, no matter how small. Not only was I put in charge of some tasks for website changes, but I was also put in charge of seemingly menial tasks like setting up lunch and watering the plants on the roof. These responsibilities helped improve my focus and decision making skills. About 90% of the times I was setting up lunch I would ask around, “Where should we go for lunch?” and just got “You decide” as an answer. I had to take charge on a few things like this in the office and I was glad I did.

The environment at Yeti is the best an office can get. There is a sense of ease and friendliness, while work is still being done. Everyone is nice and easygoing. I have never felt like there is a pressure to get my work done. It happens naturally because I enjoy doing it all. The office space itself is also welcoming. There are no cubicles or isolated desks, although there is an obligatory water cooler. All of the desks face each other in separate areas, so there is never a lack of communication between anyone. I loved this setup, as I was able to get my work done but also talk with some of the guys.

Interning Yeti was one of the best decisions I have made. It has given me valuable work experience and the best summer job I’ve ever had. It was a big time commitment, as it took most of the time of my summer vacation away, but I think it will be well worth it in the long run.