The Ms Internship: Expectation vs Experience

I still vividly remember the day I got the mail, which listed me as an upcoming Microsoft intern! I have been a tech-geek since I was a kid, and Microsoft was the first company that I have known to exist. As a kid, I believed that the terms Windows and computer were one and the same. When I spelt out my name on the confirmation mail, I travelled back in time, envisioned the 7-year old Nikita playing Minesweeper on Windows XP, and told her that you would be working for Microsoft one day! Her eyes were full of bewilderment, lacking comprehension, not very different from my own, that day.

That was a year back, when Covid was still an unpredictable monster, rising to a talked-about "peak". I spent the whole year checking Covid graphs, elated by the decreasing numbers around December, hoping to be on the Microsoft campus in the upcoming summer. As unpredictable as covid was, it rose its head once again right before the onset of our internship, driving our internship to the screens of our homes.?

So, our internships were to be virtual. Not lying; I was very disappointed. I had been planning to catch Microsoft leaders on campus to pester them with questions, to meet fellow co-interns and exchange the excitement and pain of the internship in cafes, to participate in discussions every day at the table and to live the Microsoft life for real, even if it was for only two months. Despite feeling like these things were "taken away" from me, I was still counting days to my first day at Microsoft: 24th May, 2021.

I was anticipating all the new experiences that were headed towards me. I could not wait to get to know my team, my project, start learning new technologies and have an insider view of such a large organisation. I expected the upcoming two months to be full of intense work, with me coding away to meet Microsoft standards. We have all had an impression of the "office life", with a towering boss, whose opinion of you holds the reign of your career and you logging in at 8 sharp in the morning, greeted with a task list and logging out in the evenings, having completed some tasks, with the rest left for the next day. I had heard a lot about the culture of Microsoft, how it was employee first; however, I was still skeptical as to how such an "open environment" could work for an organisation as mammoth as Microsoft. How would the productivity of employees be ensured? So, I was expecting some level of the ill-talked, constrained "office culture" in Microsoft too. I was excited to experience even that, having heard so many stories since childhood! I knew that Microsoft would take all possible steps to make our experience the best it could. Still, I had internally made peace with the fact that I would not be able to fully understand Microsoft due to the virtual nature of the internship.

The very long, and at times painful, period of speculation finally ended the day I finally received my Microsoft alias! I also got a gift I least expected to reward the wait: I was on the Windows Developers and Experiences Team! It was unbelievable to me that I would have the chance to contribute to one of the most significant assets of Microsoft: Windows. The little 7-year-old girl in me was jumping with excitement! This marked the beginning of the most productive phase of my life as an Engineering student.

Saying that the internship exceeded my expectations would not do justice to all that I have gained while working here. The experience was above and beyond what I could expect, both technically and personally.

Technically, I had expected to work on a project, i.e. code a feature for Microsoft. However, due to the culture of complete ownership of a feature here, the project assigned to me was to be developed by me right from the ideation phase. I got the chance to look at things from an end user perspective to come up with ideas that would add value to the Microsoft product. Furthermore, I was responsible for coming up with my own approach to the problem I selected to work on. Through this, I got the chance to get dirty with the various technology options available to be used to solve the problem. I weighed the pros and cons of different approaches and was able to come up with a solution that would be feasible for me and deliverable at Microsoft. There were many times when I got stuck at many places; however, my mentor was always there to guide me through any blockers that may come our way. During this process, I even got the opportunity to interact with many teammates, who were always willing to provide all the help I might need. This, and discussing the solution with my team for suggestions and review, made me feel a part of the team. My initial apprehensions regarding communication were out of the window.

Further, I learnt more than I ever have in a span of two-three weeks. I tried so many things, and as the implementation started, I worked even closer with the Windows OS modules and could understand the structure and workings of the modules in and out. I take pride in knowing a part of how Windows, the OS, works! I learnt a lot more about C++ than I knew before, the one language I considered myself proficient in. I could go on endlessly about the things I learnt as a developer while working on my project.

Apart from the technical skills that I gained, these six weeks have been a phase of tremendous personal growth. Here, I learnt how to work collaboratively and stay productive. There was no "boss" figure poking me to work. I wanted to build my project, and that was the only inspiration I needed to work here. Everyone works out of their own desire to achieve, which I think works like a miracle in terms of efficiency. My mentor taught me how to focus on achieving goals and patch them together to complete tasks. He also demonstrated how to help another while maintaining their independence, which, I think, is a tricky task. There were times when I would be stuck on an otherwise trivial error for hours due to platform constraints, which is when I realised the importance of perseverance. We just need to know it will work out in the end, and it will! I was able to inculcate the Growth Mindset to continually learn from the mistakes I make. I also got the chance to interact with leaders in Microsoft, having 20+ years of experience here, when I learnt about the importance of staying curious, even when you have all that experience! Asking for help whenever you need it and helping each other out whenever you can, were two crucial points that were present during the entire duration of the internship.

I think I entered Microsoft as a college undergraduate who knew about data structures and am leaving as a professional, aware of expectations and methods of delivering on those expectations. I have learnt a lot through the whole experience, from the onboarding to team meetups and events like the Intern Day 2021.

In my opinion, this picture rightly depicts the internship as a whole. An incoming intern is like this butterfly, waiting on the outside, apprehensive of their capabilities. During the internship, with the guidance of their mentor, they enter the company, fitting like a puzzle piece in the environment, just like the butterfly would be camouflaged into the other side of the line. As a college undergraduate, this internship, despite its virtual nature, told me what working in Microsoft feels like and how rewarding the whole experience is. The internship is an opportunity to identify where you belong and see if you fit in like a camouflaging butterfly! In all its capacity, the internship with Microsoft is an opportunity to explore and grow, like none other in the industry. I am extremely grateful to have had the opportunity to be a part of the program and I am sure that this internship is a first step to a career where I am able to touch and improve lives just like it is done here, in Microsoft.