How The Blockchain OS is onboarding newcomers to Web3.
Hear from interns André and Tadeu, on how they’re making blockchain their new home.
The Blockchain OS is passionate about building a brighter, fairer future for all and wants to welcome people from all backgrounds into blockchain. How are we doing that? For instance, by providing students and fresh grads with critical, hands-on industry experience through our blockchain internship program.
André Bandeira de Mello and Tadeu Lopes Rodrigues are studying an MBA in Business Management at The COPPEAD Graduate School of Business and stepped into the world of blockchain for the first time with Cartesi. Currently, in their last month of a 4-month internship, we were curious to know how they’re finding it so far…
After having you as our colleagues for a little over 3 months, how do you find the work culture at Cartesi?
André: It’s amazing, I love being part of Cartesi’s future — I feel part of something big, which became evident from our first meeting with Max (Core Contributor, Business) and Vinicius (Core Contributor, Expansion) and throughout my whole time here.
I came from a background of startups, so I’m used to this fast-paced environment and a culture where you can talk directly with someone who can help you fix a problem.
Whenever we need help or ideas, there are always people available to help, whether that’s sending a message on Slack or setting up a meeting. I’m an optimist, so it’s hard for me to pinpoint something bad, I always find the best light even in challenging situations.
Tadeu: I agree. I like that at Cartesi you don’t feel the presence of a hierarchical structure. In my first or second week, I already had a meeting with Nathalie, (Core Contributor, Marketing), where she took an hour out of her schedule to take us, interns, through the artificial intelligence tool Cartesi is using. In a traditional company, if you’re an intern you have to go through many people to get a lead to spend an hour of their time with you. You need to go first through the analyst, who goes to the coordinator, before getting to the manager and then to the lead. Maybe it’s also due to the size of Cartesi, we can actually get straight to the source of information — of course depending on everyone’s availability — but that’s very constructive to the work we need to do, having no barriers.
Secondly, people are well-humored and friendly. We were never made to feel that we’re wasting people’s valuable time when we ask questions, which is great! Also at ETH Rio, it was a good opportunity to meet the team in person since we’re all fully remote. I loved experiencing both a formal exchange with colleagues during the event itself and it was also nice to meet everyone again in more casual social events. It’s always great to go beyond being just work colleagues and getting to know people on a personal level.
At Cartesi we have many experts. You’re seen as experts too. In some companies, interns are sometimes unable to show their skills and intelligence. I hope at Cartesi you have the freedom to show what you’re capable of.
Tadeu: Yes, we totally do. Sometimes we are pleasantly surprised at the level of responsibility that is put in our hands. For example, we were very quickly able to present something to the co-founders. That’s also part of start-up culture, getting your hands dirty on lots of different things and making the most of what we have available.
We all have our own field and there’s rarely a middleman pushing data from one side to another, which helps to elevate people.
André: Indeed, with our first meeting with Erick, we were losing a night of sleep thinking “Oh my god, we’re already presenting in front of the co-founder and all our colleagues!” But in general, people were very receptive, giving a lot of positive, warm, and constructive feedback.
Is there a project you set up from start to finish — something you left behind, something that made you think you really accomplished something at Cartesi during your internship?
Tadeu: Concretely speaking, in terms of a deliverable result, our main contribution was to bring certain discussions to people’s minds and we updated or developed upon these with possible interpretations, different points of view, or even confirming things that people had a hunch for previously, but helped to really confirm it with research.
We also worked on a weekly report on the Layer-2 ecosystem to monitor where we sit within the technological landscape. We got great feedback from the team on this — everyone seemed to enjoy it.
A dedicated team that dives deep into data: that’s super-valuable to have. It even ignited the setup of an intelligence hub that will help make informed decisions on things like the Cartesi Improvement Proposal (CIP) process.
How about your expectations before the internship? And were they met?
André: Yes, not only what I learned at Cartesi, but the variation of projects we worked on. We were able to do a lot more than I expected and we contributed meaningful work. I had some knowledge of blockchain before - in my bubble I was the one who knows the most about blockchain - so I thought I was comfortable in this regard. But on my first day, I felt like I knew nothing. You try to climb the learning curve, but it keeps getting bigger and bigger.
Tadeu: The fact that we’ve extended our internships is a good indicator that we like it here. For me, I experienced a little bit of a mismatch in expectations. In preparing for interviews, since this internship is my first contact with the blockchain and Web3 space, I really tried to understand all the technical aspects — which is obviously impossible to do in 2–3 weeks. It was also a bit naive on my part to think I’d master everything to do with blockchain. [laughs]
But it’s also hard to compare this with anything else. Our main role is to research and gather intelligence, so what we’re learning is on a whole other level of magnitude compared to a typical intern.
The bad news is that the feeling of being behind the curve won’t go away. Blockchain is developing so rapidly that it’s so hard to keep up and The Blockchain OS’ technology itself is changing so rapidly. That constant chase after the learning curve comes with the space.
What’s next? Are you taking these learnings with you?
André: First, I’m focusing on finishing my Master's. After that, when I start working, blockchain is definitely a possibility for me. I will take everything I learned from this internship, it’s a lot different from working in other industries. I joke with Tadeu that it has the best research engine, everyone who’s working on something important is on Twitter, sharing their insights, sharing links to their Medium posts, which is another great source of info.
It’s different from, for example, a Master's degree, where you have to dig through databases, academic papers, etc. In Brazil, for example, we have regulatory agencies where you can search for information on things like oil, but for blockchain, you have to search in many different places. The flow of information in blockchain is much faster and has fewer barriers, which I prefer.
Tadeu: Alongside focusing on finishing my Master's, I also have an exchange program coming up. I have trouble falling in love with things to do, I’m more of a give me something to do and I’ll do it well, but don’t have the passion. I’m pragmatic with my professional career choices, blockchain is definitely interesting and challenging. It puts me in a discomfort zone that has me running after information and constantly learning. There’s also money in blockchain, I’m not naive, it’s a factor in my choice. But getting both the utilitarian gain, i.e. salary, as well as personal development and achievement is a great combination. My only concern is being away from the industry for 6 months for my exchange program. As we talked about before with chasing the learning curve, will I be able to keep up with all the changes?
Do you have any solid advice for new interns? Either in general for Cartesi, or specialised to your field.
André: Don’t be afraid to ask questions if you have doubts or something you want clarification on. You don’t need to try and fix it yourself, or understand it all on your own — people are always happy to answer and always warmly!
Tadeu: I would give that advice to new Cartesi interns, but not necessarily for interns in general. Like what we said before, we were surprised at how welcomed we felt, whereas starting an internship in a more traditional company, if you go in with all these questions, they might be like, “Who do you think you are? I’m busy with a million other things.” — they might not have time for your questions.
We would recommend as well, in blockchain, to forget what you consider to be traditional relevant sources of information and embrace the fact that information can come from everywhere. The value of information is no longer tied to the recognition the source has, but rather to the validity of knowledge constantly shared and reviewed by people in the space. Instead of prioritizing a well-known and trusted source, you can find valuable information in what has been accepted and developed upon. As André said before, Twitter is an amazing source of information!
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Working with Cartesi means teaming up with a totally remote team; a diverse selection of makers, mavericks, and people of greatness. We’re a group of people who dedicate ourselves to Web3 freedom while serving to inspire. Looking to build up your experience in blockchain with an internship? Keep an eye out for openings or send your resume along with an introduction to our HR e-mail: hr@cartesi.io
Interested in joining The Blockchain OS as a core contributor? Take a look at our current openings, or reach out to our development team over on Discord — we’re always happy to chat!
About Cartesi
The Blockchain OS is a decentralized layer-2 infrastructure that supports Linux and mainstream software components. For the first time, developers can code scalable smart contracts with rich software tools, libraries, and the services they’re used to, bridging the gap between mainstream software and blockchain.
Cartesi is enabling millions of new startups and their developers to use The Blockchain OS and bring Linux applications on board. With a groundbreaking virtual machine, optimistic rollups, and side-chains, Cartesi paves the way for developers of all kinds, to build the next generation of blockchain apps.
Welcome to The Blockchain OS, home to what’s next.
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