Ask HN: Interning as a developer this summer

#1

Post by disposable123 » Sat, Apr 02, 2011, 2:36 PM UTC

Note: apologies for posting this under a dummy account; would rather keep this anonymous on HN, but I'm happy to be more candid via e-mail.

I'm a CS undergraduate (2/3 years completed). I really want to experience working in the Valley this summer. However, as a UK citizen, I find the visa situation to be a little daunting.

Apparently there's a shortage of talented developers though. So I had this thought: in exchange for visa help, flights and somewhere to sleep, would a startup be likely to take me on?

Just to clarify: I would essentially work for free over 3 months to cover the hassle involved.

Here's some of my experience over the past year:

- Wrote non-trivial iPhone/iPad apps (+ some Android experience)

- Server-side APIs: Python+Tornado, MySQL (involving lots of data)

- Analytics on top of a Hadoop cluster for a large global telco, dealing with petabytes of incoming data (ongoing -- also involved in deploying the cluster)

- Web visuals using ExtJS, Google Maps API, RaphaelJS

Would love to hear if this sounds even remotely plausible.

Thanks!

Re: Ask HN: Interning as a developer this summer

#2

Post by sgrove » Sat, Apr 02, 2011, 3:10 PM UTC

We've had several interns, most of which were from Canada (University of Waterloo apparently has strict experience requirements for undergrads). There's not too much of a challenge - contact different startups, you'll be sponsored, you'l come here and be put through some immigration unpleasantries, and go home at the end of three months or so.

Give it a try! HN is only one route to find internships - check with friends, online contacts, and your university to see if they have any placement program.

Re: Ask HN: Interning as a developer this summer

#3

Post by wsxiaoys » Sat, Apr 02, 2011, 3:48 PM UTC

Also want to know if there any intern opportunities accept international students (etc. China) in valley.

Re: Ask HN: Interning as a developer this summer

#4

Post by nano81 » Sat, Apr 02, 2011, 4:29 PM UTC

Interning in the states is fairly easy with a J-1 visa once you have an employer backing you. The visa costs roughly $800 (mine have always been covered by the employer). I always used CDS to get the visa (http://www.cdsintl.org/interntrainusa/about-j1-visa/) but I am sure there are other agencies that are just as good.

Send me an email if you need more info.

Re: Ask HN: Interning as a developer this summer

#5

Post by answerly » Sat, Apr 02, 2011, 4:38 PM UTC

We are a startup (YC W10) looking for great summer interns and would happily help with visas, etc for the right person. My contact info is in my profile if you'd like to chat.

Re: Ask HN: Interning as a developer this summer

#6

Post by disposable123 » Sat, Apr 02, 2011, 6:31 PM UTC

sgrove wrote: post #2

We've had several interns, most of which were from Canada (University of Waterloo apparently has strict experience requirements for undergrads). There's not too much of a challenge - contact different startups, you'll be sponsored, you'l come here and be put through some immigration unpleasantries, and go home at the end of three months or so. Give it a try! HN is only one route to find internships - check with frien…

Thanks for the advice. Who's the 'we' and do you still take interns? Worth a try!

Re: Ask HN: Interning as a developer this summer

#7

Post by triviatise » Sun, Apr 03, 2011, 12:30 PM UTC

Dont sell your self short! Interning (work for free or for cheap) is common in fields where there are tons of students looking for jobs (publishing, fashion, film, TV). In development it isnt the case, there is always a shortage of good people. If you do intern, make sure you get paid a reasonable wage! Something on the order of 20-25/hour. When I interned about 15 years ago I made about the equivalent of 50K/year. Not great, but certainly not free. I had found free lance jobs on my own paying about $50/hour.

If you are going to work for free, you might as well do it for yourself and work on an opensource project