Why Internships and Work Experience are Vital for Students

Im coming to the end of my work experience at Cantemo, having been here since the end of University term back in June. Im pretty sad to see the end of what has been a really fun experience, though Im also excited about what comes next studying in Taiwan before heading back to Link ping, Sweden to finish my Masters in Computer Science. After that of course, Ill be starting my career for real. If all company cultures are as fun and relaxed as Cantemos then I can look forward to hard work coupled with playing FIFA on the PlayStation, eating lunch outside with my colleagues, pizza and beer Fridays, and of course the odd go-karting trip.

In Sweden, it is pretty common for students to spend some of the time doing work experience and internships and I would advise anyone to do it if at all possible. It is a pretty cool feeling to learn something at Uni and then go out to the real world and apply it and it will definitely help with my final year of studies. For me it was React, which is a library for Javascript. I wrote my first line of Javascript in January this year and then moved on to start learning about React. So, it is pretty amazing that just a few months later I was actually using it for real-life applications.

At Cantemo, I have been working with Pablo in the frontend design team, something I really enjoy as I love the fact you get instant visual feedback on the frontend and can see the results of your labour. It is also an area where years of using websites can be really helpful for influence and ideas.

Until I joined, Pablo had been doing all the frontend coding himself, so that was a considerable challenge for me, getting to grips with not only applying the coding I had learnt but also having to develop a different coding style to suit Pablos. Just as you wouldnt want to read a book that felt like it had been written by two very different authors, it is important with coding that it seems like it has been done by the same person. Therefore my first couple of days were spent going through hundreds of files to understand how they were structured and how they talk to each other it is a good thing we have good coffee! Whilst this was one of my biggest challenges, it was also the most valuable lesson, teaching me to adapt my programming to suit different coding styles.

The experience has also helped with my CSS, although I have to admit that is still my weakness.

As I cycle to work for the last few weeks, I look forward to enjoying the last of my time here. Before I go, I would like to impart some advice to anyone considering a similar experience and that is quite simply do it! Ive worked with colleagues from a wide range of different backgrounds and cultures, been accepted as truly one of the team, including taking part in numerous social activities after work, and learnt so much more than I could have done just in class. This experience is truly going to help me as I move onto my final year and then begin my career the story is just beginning!

LINK:	http://www.cantemo.com/news/2017/8/why-internships-and-work-experience...
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