My Internship on DISCO’s Engineering Team

I’ve been coding since I was five years old.

For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be an engineer. By sixth grade, I had created a homework planner app and was first selling it to my peers, then strangers. By high school I had my own startup with a few friends. In the fall of 2021, I began my first year at University of Texas at Austin as a computer science major. I had interned and worked for a few tech companies throughout high school and was looking forward to gaining more experience in software engineering. 

DISCO seemed like an exciting place to be

I was fascinated by the challenges that DISCO was solving and the complexities of scale. When I found out that there was an internship program on the product delivery team, I applied immediately. I knew that the DISCO team had a deep bench of engineering prowess and it would be a place where I could challenge myself and grow my skills as a developer.

I was drawn to the opportunity to solve real-world problems

My internship at DISCO has been rewarding due to three factors: the talent, the culture, and the passion. 

Even though I am still an undergraduate student, DISCO has placed me in a team where I get to work alongside very experienced software engineers. I’ve been faced with real challenges and have shipped real code that has been implemented into the company. My coworkers give me projects that they know I might find difficult, but ultimately very rewarding. 

Everyone at DISCO is genuinely kind and supportive, and I can be myself and work collaboratively on a team. For example, I notice how eager my team is to provide support in helping overcome technical challenges all the while keeping trust in me and my work. I feel comfortable going to my managers and coworkers with questions. 

As an ELRP intern, I went through one week of training and found the curriculum tangible and applicable when it came to my work. I was particularly surprised by our leadership training, which  not only sharpened my collaboration and communication skills, but also my skills as a software developer. Not only that, I’ve made incredible friends outside of work.

Takeaways 

My advice to prospective interns is to find the path that is meaningful to you and do things because you enjoy them. I love software engineering and knew that this was the route I wanted to take. At DISCO, I have found an environment where learning and taking risks is encouraged. The work is hard and that’s what makes it so rewarding; it’s a wonderful place to grow. 

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If you are interested in an internship at DISCO, check out the Emerging Leader Internship Program (ELIP). ELIP is an eight-week program with structured learning, a rotation work experience, a capstone project, and ongoing learning and career development. At the end of the program, successful interns will be offered a post-graduation, full-time position with DISCO, and entry into the Emerging Leader Rotation Program.

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