Internship diary of a software engineering intern at Carousell Taiwan
Written by William Wu
Chinese version included after the English version
I have always been uncertain about the future as an accounting student. After taking intermediate accounting in my sophomore year, I realized that I was not interested in dealing with all the complex journal entries and intricate financial statements. Additionally, the prospects of my future career seemed unclear. By chance, I came across many software engineers sharing their daily work experiences on social media. Filled with a beautiful aspiration, I plunged into the world of software, taking courses and participating in corporate activities, envisioning myself one day experiencing office life with snacks. The acceptance letter I received undoubtedly affirmed my decision to switch lanes and became the stepping stone to my new career.
I still remember the first day of joining Carousell, feeling overwhelmed by the unfamiliar Macbook as well as various procedures and account setups. I am grateful to my experienced colleagues who patiently provided answers whenever I had questions and shared numerous learning resources with me. The whiteboard introducing the company’s web architecture is still deeply imprinted in my mind. As I started sending out my first few pull requests, I faced the shock of code reviews. Learning how to write readable, maintainable, efficient, and secure code has been the most significant part of my learning journey.
Compared to the foundational frontend skills I learned in school, here I have the opportunity to explore within a massive codebase. I believe this is highly effective in understanding the entire frontend architecture.
In addition to programming, I also appreciated the processes of team development and collaboration, the use of Jira, and the testing workflows with the test engineers. I am grateful to the engineers who patiently answered my questions whenever I intercepted them along the way, saving me from unnecessary detours in the development process. The weekly one-on-one meetings with my supervisor have also been an important part of this internship, allowing me to address issues promptly and receive career advice and guidance from my supervisor.
Apart from gaining technical knowledge, I have been impressed by the culture at the company. The company regularly organizes activities to help employees relax and enhance interaction among colleagues. I have participated in activities such as ice cream making and meditation classes, which were incredibly enjoyable. The warm environment within the company creates a harmonious atmosphere in the office, where I can seek valuable advice for both work-related and personal matters.
I highly recommend interning at Carousell. It not only allows me to enhance my technical skills and leave with project works, but also provides an opportunity to experience the positive work culture within a company.
身為一個會計系學生，我總是對於未來充滿徬徨，一方面在大二修完中會時才發現對這些密密麻麻的報表分錄不感興趣，又或是對於未來職涯的不明朗。偶然地在社群平台上看到許多軟體工程師的工作日常分享，便帶著美好的憧憬一頭栽進軟體的世界裡，在校修課、參加企業活動，想像自己有一天能體驗辦公室有零食的生活。那封錄取通知無疑是對我這個轉換跑道決定的重大肯定，也成為了我全新職涯的敲門磚。 還記得從到職的第一天開始，面對從未使用過的 Macbook 以及各式各樣的流程、帳號設定讓我手足無措，感謝資深同事充滿耐心的在我有疑問時隨時提供解答，提供我許多學習資源，介紹公司網頁架構的白板至今仍在腦海中深深烙印著。隨著剛開始的幾個 PR 發了出去，我開始面對code review 帶來的震撼，如何寫出易讀、好維護、效率高又安全的程式碼是其中學習到最多的部分。 相較於學校可以學到的基礎前端技能，在這裡我可以在一個龐大的 codebase 裡盡情探索，我想這對於理解整個前端架構是十分有效的。
除了寫程式之外，我更體會到了團隊開發以及合作的過程、Jira 的使用、與測試工程師準被測試流程等等繁複的工作過程。感謝那些時常在半路被我攔截詢問問題的工程師們，讓我在開發的過 程避免許多不必要遠路。每周與主管一對一的會議也是這段實習重要的一環，讓我在遇到問題時可以及時提出，接收許多來自主管的職涯分享與指導。 除了獲得技術上的知識，在旋轉拍賣的生活也讓我印象深刻，公司內時常舉辦活動幫助員工放鬆身心，增進同事之前的互動，我參加過製作冰淇淋以及冥想課程等，非常有趣。因為公司溫馨的環境，在辦公室的大家都和樂融融，不論是工作上或是生活上的問題都可以得到許多良好的意見。
我非常推薦到旋轉拍賣來實習，增進技術留下 project 作品的同時，更可以體驗良好工作文化的一間公司。
