Computer Science & Software Internship Story: Microsoft

Saksham Goel
Computer Science & Software Engineering

Where did you intern?

Company – Microsoft
Location – Redmond, WA

How did you find and apply for your internship?
I had been tracking applications for some specific companies on their websites and that is how I found out about the internship. When it came out, I applied.   

What was the application process like?
It was a normal application process for a Software Engineering Internship position. It asked for my resume, experiences, education etc. One thing that was a little different from some applications was that it asked for my preference in Computer Science. Some examples were frontend, backend, cloud, Xbox etc.

Tell us about your internship experience. What types of tasks and projects did you engage in? Was there a particular project or part of the experience you learned the most from?
I was paired with a team on Azure C+AI. I had a mentor (who was a Senior Software Engineer) and a manager who I reported to. My project was to test how much load we can put on one of the backend services used by my team. It involved making a lot of http calls to the service and see when it starts to show delay etc.
I learnt the most from my mentor. He has been in the field for more than 10 years and is one of the smartest and most efficient people I have met. If there was a dead end I would encounter, he was more than willing to help me out (especially when I accidentally wiped out my 2 weeks of work lol). Also, his years of experience was visible in his coding practices (which he would recommend to me every now and then) and ways of optimizing code in general. Talking to other full-time employees in general was an amazing learning experience.

In what ways did this internship help you prepare for your next destination after Auburn?
It showed me that inside CS, I really like backend services and would like to work in the industry for a few years before I decide if I want to do further studies or not. It also showed me how talented other people of my age are and in what ways we can improve.

In what ways did your coursework or other experiences at Auburn prepare you for your internships?
Some of the core CS classes at Auburn were key for my internship, including the Fundamentals of Computing I & II, Data Structures, Algorithms, and Operating Systems. Skills and knowledge that I gained from this class were directly applied in my project to create a fast and efficient service. Also, being a part of ACM at Auburn has been very helpful, in terms of preparing for interviews and making my software skills better.

Are there specific topics or skills you learned from classes that you put into practice on the job?
Some of the core CS classes at Auburn were key for my internship, including the Fundamentals of Computing I & II, Data Structures, Algorithms, and Operating Systems. Skills and knowledge that I gained from this class were directly applied in my project to create a fast and efficient service. Also, being a part of ACM at Auburn has been very helpful, in terms of preparing for interviews and making my software skills better.

Do you have any advice for other students looking for internships like yours?
I would recommend finding an area of interest in CS that you are keen about and finding resources (such as online courses or an organization at Auburn) that help your understanding in that specific area and make you stand out. Taking advice from other students senior to you at Auburn and people on LinkedIn is helpful as well because they have been through these processes and have more experience.