Life as an Intern at REI
Green River student and US Army Veteran Chris Barbour reflects on his summer internship experience at America’s favorite outdoor clothing company and offers tips for applying
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Software isn’t just eating the job market — it’s devouring it. And yet, any college student who’s looked for a summer technical internship knows that dev roles don’t just magically appear from thin air. Internship search is a job in itself that requires initiative, persistence, and hustle.
Chris Barbour is a terrific case in point. A US Army Veteran who’s wrapping up his bachelor’s degree in software development at Green River College, Chris spent this past summer interning within the Digital Retail department at REI. In our Q and A below, he reflects on his internship experience and describes what it took to land a role at America’s favorite outdoor clothing company.
Let’s start from the beginning. What led you to Green River’s software development program?
Chris: I was originally planning to transfer to UW-Tacoma after completing my Associate of Science degree in computer science, but after speaking with the software development team at Green River, my plans changed instantly. After my first educational planning meeting, I felt that the staff and the instructors in the program genuinely took a keen interest in my success.
You landed a summer internship at REI this past summer— congrats! Can you tell us a little bit about what you did in this role and why you were drawn to this particular employer?
Chris: As an intern at REI, I worked on the Platform Team within the Digital Retail department. The main project that I worked on over the summer was to design a web-based micro service that would manage code freezes. I was drawn to REI mainly because of the atmosphere. Everyone is a completely professional, but they also know how to have fun, and are encouraged to do so. They have many stewardship events in the local community that range from building and maintaining new hiking/biking trails to volunteering at local food banks. The company as a whole practices what it preaches from top to bottom.
What are some of the key technical skills you developed at Green River that prepared you for an internship at REI?
Chris: The biggest skill that I developed at Green River which helped prepare me for the internship at REI was debugging. Learning how to effectively use debugging tools inside a given Integrated Development Environment (IDE) gave me a deeper understanding of what was actually happening inside the code that I was working with. Another important high-level skill I developed at Green River was problem-solving. For the most part, programming languages all have the same basic concepts, but understanding how to attack a problem in an efficient manner was immeasurably helpful during my internship.
What best practices or tips would you offer to current students who are preparing to look for internships of their own?
Chris: First and foremost, don’t be afraid to admit you don’t know something, especially during the interview process. During the interview you will be asked questions by someone who knows much more about the subject then you do, so it is best not to guess or to make up an answer. Also along those lines, it’s a good idea is to study up on common technical interview questions, such as recursion.
You’re a great example of hustle. Can you talk about the importance of hustle (i.e. working hard, going the extra mile) in addition to having strong technical skills?
Chris: Last winter and spring, I applied for around 30 internships and only heard back from a few. This was very disappointing to me at first, but I kept pushing forward, browsing job boards, and reading the emails from Andy, Ken, and the rest of the software development team at Green River. Once I saw the REI internship, I knew that was something I really wanted. I spent two days optimizing my resume for the job posting (thank you Andy and Ken for the help!) and also researched the company. I also went over the most common internship questions, as mentioned above, and prepared questions of my own to ask during my interview. One huge point during my interview was when I referenced REI’s CEO by name. I could tell that made a huge impression on my interviewers and that simple move had absolutely zero to do with coding. Anything that you can do to distinguish yourself from others — DO IT!
Be like Chris with a bachelor’s degree in software development from Green River College. Learn more at greenriver.edu/software.
Looking for a technical internship? Visit our innovative student-developed web app, IT Connect, which helps students discover technical internship opportunities in the Seattle-Tacoma region: itconnect.greenrivertech.net.
Need additional inspiration? Check out our 5 Tips for Landing a Technical Internship.
