Software Engineering: Launch Student Stories
Discover first-hand experiences of past Launch students in the Software Engineering track!
*If you aren’t familiar with our Launch internship program, please visit joinforge.co/launch.
Resumes and Prep
The prep work was very helpful — resume prep helped me realize that a hackathon I initially didn’t think should appear on my resume was valid experience. The interview prep was definitely the most helpful, though! I was pretty nervous all through the prep and messed up more than a few times, but the other students and the Forge team helped me notice the mistakes I was making which allowed me to fix them before it was time for real interviews.
— Angela Gagin, Launch ’21
Angela worked at RepairPal in the summer of 2021.
“When I released the pressure to get any job, it was easy to find the right job.”
The Interview/Matching Process
I went into the matching process feeling as though I needed to apply to every single company possible in an effort to get as many interviews as possible. A couple of rounds into matching, I realized that this dragnet strategy was flawed. The desire to get a job had clouded my thinking. Shifting to applying to companies I would genuinely be excited to work for and for which I would be willing to put serious interview prep, my success in getting interviews and overall enjoyment increased. Ultimately I applied to nine companies, interviewed with three and found the right company for me. When I released the pressure to get any job, it was easy to find the right job. Thinking back on the process I often laugh, as the strategy of applying to every company got me zero interviews, likely due to a litany of mediocre applications, rather than a few legitimate applications demonstrating real interest.
— Cooper DeVito, Launch ’21
Cooper worked at Hard Yards in the summer of 2021.
Training Process
I was shocked with just how much we were able to learn and cover in the 3 weeks of training. It honestly felt like I learned more than I have in entire semester long CS courses. On top of the learning, the amount of comfort and ease I gained with React from Countdown 1 to the last day of training was astonishing.
— Charlie Glennon, Launch ’21
Charlie worked at Kintech Cloud in the summer of 2021.
Advice for Future Students
My biggest piece of advice for Launch students is to work hard, and to enjoy the process. It can be stressful at times. Launch is designed to be a strong learning experience, which means hard work is needed. Rarely are there times we learn a lot that don’t require serious work. Hard work is not, however, mutually exclusive with fun. The best parts of launch were the most challenging for me. I remember a day of practicing interviewing with a small group. We were all pretty stressed and felt some pressure being asked cold questions by the instructors. At the end of the session, we had all learned so much and had given each other meaningful, genuine feedback. We all were closer afterward and upon reconvening with the whole group, we realized all the students had a similar experience. This was simultaneously one of most stressful and more enjoyable days of training. I think this example also serves as a lesson for the whole program. Treating the experience as time to give mediocre results led to less growth, less fun, and mediocre results. When we did good work, there was an abundance of growth, and a ton of laughter along the way.
— Cooper DeVito, Launch ’21
If you have any further questions about the software engineering track of Launch, Launch in general, or even just about Forge, do not hesitate to visit our website! Launch is a program that many people find value in, whether it be to learn new skills, get a summer internship, or both. If you’re an upcoming Launch student for the summer of 2022, or are thinking about applying next year, we hope you found this article helpful, and feel free to reach out with any questions you may have.
