AMA about my internship at GovTech
Original article: https://medium.com/@cheryl.nqj/ama-about-my-internship-at-govtech-a9eb509fdcfd
Over the summer of 2020, I completed a 4-month internship with GovTech in the Sensors and IOT team. During that time, I had the wonderful opportunity to share about my experience — albeit a different one given the WFH situation — with GovTech’s publicity team. Here is the full transcript of my interview, and I hope this will shed some light for those considering an internship with GovTech!
What is your job scope i.e. what do you do on a daily basis, work spaces, working hours etc?
A: Every day begins with a cup of Teh Tarik — either from the office, or a home-brewed one. That is where the “routine” part of my day ends! Working with the SmartGym team, there is always something different each day to look forward to — from going to deployment sites, setting up equipment, tackling unforeseen bugs and crashes in our systems, to working on brand new features with a development phone by my side.
The SmartGym team works very closely together despite the WFH situation. Even though each of us have our areas of expertise — mine being front-end and mobile application development — we also embrace other tasks based on our familiarity and interests. This led to a very dynamic and exciting work experience.
Describe your internship in 20 words
Dynamic, meaningful and exciting challenges, working alongside driven and inspiring folks; much more than I ever expected.
What do your friends and family think you do? Any misconceptions?
I’ve received a ton of Grab deliveries for devices and equipment to work on every day, and my family has no idea what I really do. They probably think that I’m involved in complicated hacking — complete with green text against a black background as a matrix of numbers scroll past. It is much simpler than that; I work with databases and virtual machines and develop mobile interfaces.
Oh, and everyone thinks that programming is a lone-wolf job — sitting at home all day, coding rapidly under low light, wearing thick glasses. The glasses part is true, but there are a lot of meetings and discussions with stakeholders and team members. As part of GovTech’s Agile process, we build fast, get user feedback and repeat the process. It allows us to deal with changing needs and focus on what is most important at that point in the best way.
Why did you/what made you decide to join GovTech?
For me, GovTech’s focus on whole-of-government product development, and its focus as the lead agency driving public sector digital transformation made it a no-brainer decision. I see a lot of potential for digital integration across the public sector, from our data, applications, sensors and all other technological endpoints. And I believe I can contribute best by being at the frontlines of this movement, making an impact on the larger picture of streamlining public sector services.
What are the three tools and/or equipment that you’ll need to do your job well?
My favourite morning pick-me-up drink (for me, that’s teh tarik/thai milk tea); a sleek, additional monitor (for additional screen space); and my rubber duck for debugging.
What was the happiest/proudest moment of your career?
Well, I have only been an intern for 3–4 months. For me, my proudest moment was when we successfully completed our first round of deployment after months of frantically scrambling across Singapore, performing daily checks to see whether our services were still up and running. When we finally got to witness our first real users, it was incredibly exciting to see people benefit from what we have built.
What was one challenge that you’ve faced during your internship and how did you overcome it?
One of the largest challenges for me was integrating into a team in a WFH situation. Being the newest intern, I was very scared of breaking any systems, and communication felt very challenging through the static screen. However, my SmartGym teammates have been incredibly welcoming; they were very patient and kind with their onboarding and check-ins. By taking initiative and showing empathy for others, it taught me a lot about crossing boundaries and restrictions. I made some good friends and mentors during the internship, and I hope we can meet up in-person someday. Occasionally, I still struggle with remembering how everyone looks like without their masks!
What are three key traits that you think is necessary to do your job well? Why?
Curiosity, boldness and persistence. I think curiosity is about how we can take away more from our internships. Through asking questions about the systems we use and the selected implementations, I get a much better sense of thought processes that go beyond our code and understand the decisions made when developing software due to stakeholder or developer limitations. This is very important to account for when managing projects. It also gives you a chance to explore various possible best practices and present them to the team later. I have had the great fortune of working with such an open-minded team who is ready to try out anything. I would like to think that I contributed with my incessant curiosity.
Boldness. With the WFH situation, I feel that interactions have become inherently more formalised by their platforms and you can’t just tap on someone’s shoulder at the office to ask a question or discuss things out over lunch. We must be bold and step out of our comfort zone to build these connections.
Persistence. I think good programming is quite challenging and finding the best practice when you feel completely out of your depth is how developers grow. I have grown a lot by relentlessly searching through solutions on Stack Overflow, reading documentation and exploring many different methods. That persistence in continuously trying to find different implementations and focusing on the best ways differentiates someone who just does their job, from someone who does their job well.
How does one stand out in your role?
If you think you know everything about a particular software, you do not know enough. Ask your colleagues questions about what they are doing and learn from them!
Any technical tips to share with the community in your role? For e.g. when using a particular tool or prog language or developing certain process, project, etc
Git Gud! Seriously, understanding version control helps so much, and it is something we tend to overlook.
What’s great about working at GovTech?
The focus on personal growth and fit is one of the best parts. Throughout my time at GovTech, I have had incredible opportunities to find mentors and work in teams with people all striving towards not just building products but learning and exploring in the process. The guidance provided and opportunity for you to develop yourself is something I will cherish a lot.
What advice would you give to someone keen to join your team or GovTech?
The SmartGym team is looking for interns! You can take over my role, if you are keen, or find your fit in a variety of challenging tasks. Take a leap of faith, have some courage, and drop us an email!
What is your biggest takeaway from GovTech?
Build fast, fail fast, learn fast.
tl;dr — I had a wonderful experience despite the COVID-19 situation. I feel revitalised and ready for school and the next internship again!
~ Cheryl
