Do you want to learn more about navigating tech industries as a student? Are you a little intimidated to start talking with industry professionals and alumni right now? Do you want to learn which programs and initiatives at Hopkins can support your entry into the tech industry? Well, you’re in luck! The Life Design Lab invited two current members of the Class of 2025, who successfully secured internships this past summer, to share their insights and perspectives on the tech industry:
- Stella Huo (She, Her) – Software Development Engineer Intern at Amazon
- Jamie Stelnik (She, Her)– Consulting GPS Business Technology Solutions Summer Scholar at Deloitte
We summarized the top 5 themes from both students’ responses. (Completed responses can be found at the end of the article.)
- Leverage Life Design Lab Programs & Individualized Support:
Opportunities like Intersession Treks (specifically, treks exploring the tech industry in San Francisco), internship preparation programs (formerly Your Turn to Intern (YTTI) but similar current Life Design Lab programs include the FLI Internship Academy and Intersession courses like “It’s Not Too Late to Secure an Internship!”), and drop-in appointments with Life Design staff members helped students clarify their career interests, gain insight into the tech industry, and receive tailored support.
- Collaboration and Communication are Still Crucial in Tech:
Even in highly technical roles, communication and teamwork proved to be essential. Both students highlighted the need to express ideas clearly and work collaboratively, dispelling the myth that tech jobs are solitary roles. Be sure to seek opportunities to showcase your ability and communication skills throughout your personal and professional journeys.
- Explore Non-Linear Career Paths:
Both students challenged the idea that computer science majors must follow a traditional software engineering path. The students found fulfillment in roles that combine coding with communication, project management, and client-facing responsibilities. For example, one student who was initially drawn to software engineering pivoted to tech consulting after exploring different areas.
- Continued Learning on the Job:
A key takeaway from their experiences is that many technical skills are learned on the job. Flexibility and adaptability are important because different projects, managers, and industries require different approaches. Students seemed to find this revelation refreshing as they are not expected to know everything – even in the later stages of their college journey.
- Importance of Networking and Mentorship:
Building connections through networking and mentorship were key factors in their success. Students not only initiated relationships with industry professionals but also maximized guidance from faculty and peers for their success in the industry. Learn more about networking by using stakeholder mapping – a tool that helps identify individuals who have varying levels of interest in your career and life journeys.
Are you interested in diving deeper into the tech industry? Please explore some upcoming opportunities from the Life Design Lab.
- Tech Industry Week 2024: September 30 – October 4, 2024
- Tech Intersession Trek to San Francisco: January 2 – 14, 2025
- What programs or resources have you leveraged from the Life Design Lab and how have they supported your personal or professional development?
- Intersession Treks to San Francisco, Meetings with Life Design Educators (Drop-In Hours), Future Fest, YTTI (Your Turn to Intern)
- Many opportunities are available for students interested in entering the tech industry. What type of work are you most interested in doing in tech and what sparked your interest in this work?
- I am interested in software engineer role in which I get to work on cool projects that have large impacts on the customer who uses or relies on the projects that I build.
- I began interested in tech since high school. I was on an all-girls robotics team during my high school where we compete in FTC and won prizes. I love engineering in the aspect that it tries to address real-world problems (either abstract it to a universal question or solving one specific problem) and provide feasible solutions. I noticed how much change technology has brought to my daily life (e.g. ChatGPT). Therefore, I wish to work as a software engineer and make technology more accessible to people.
- What summer experiences have you engaged in during your time at Hopkins? How do you think they have prepared you for a career in tech industries?
- I participated in research for most of my past summers, continue my work on projects that I did not get to finish before. This experience taught me how to plan and think in long terms and also quickly acquire new skills.
- I also interned at Amazon last summer where I worked on projects that solves one specific business problem. This experience is very rewarding in the ways that it helped me to learn more about big tech company and how to coordinate with different people on a team in a serious work setting. I also learned to network with manager, team members, and other interns.
- As you started gaining more experience in tech, what is something that most surprised you about the industry?
- On thing I was surprised about is that even though software engineer is considered as “individual contributor”, there are still a lot of needs for expressing ideas and communication. My code needs to get at least 2 reviews before it can go into the testing stage, and also when I made a design decision I always come to at least two people on the team before moving forward. Therefore, communication is the key and you should always keep your manager and team members on the same page with you.
- If you could travel to your first day at Hopkins and give yourself one piece of advice on navigating the tech industry, what would it be and why?
- I would like to say to my past self that networking is very important, as well as honing the hard skills. Although you will almost never do Leetcode problems or anything similar in the actual work setting, it is an important step in the interview process and you need to be good at it.
- Who are some individuals who have served as mentors for you in your navigation of the tech industry? How did you identify them and how have you worked to maintain those relationships?
- I have many people who helped me when navigating my early career. Many of my peers and upper classman whether helped me to mock interview, give me tips on my resume, provide emotional support while going through the time-consuming process of finding a job. A good way to keep in touch with them is constantly connect with them asking about how they are doing and any major updates in their life.
- (Optional) What else would you like to share with students interested in navigating the tech industry?
- I would suggest to apply to as many position as you can when trying to secure a internship/fulltime job.
- What programs or resources have you leveraged from the Life Design Lab and how have they supported your personal or professional development?
- I participated in Intro to Hopkins: Arrive and Thrive for Student Athletes with Jess Harlee in Fall of 2021. During Intersession 2023, I participated in the Intersession Trek “Tech and Entrepreneurship in the Bay Area.” Both courses taught me what I was looking for in my life and career. I have met with Life Design Educators (Jess Harlee) during her cohort drop-in hours to see what potential areas I was interested in beyond software engineering.
- Many opportunities are available for students interested in entering the tech industry. What type of work are you most interested in doing in tech and what sparked your interest in this work?
- While I have known since coming into Hopkins that I wanted to major in Computer Science, I didn’t know exactly what I wanted to do. Since coming to Hopkins, I have picked up a second major, Philosophy, where I have taken many discussion-based courses. I always wondered how I could combine my excitement and interest in discussions and critical thinking with coding/software engineering. After the Intersession Trek, I realized I was much more interested in tech corporations rather than tech startups, especially in the beginning of my career. I am interested in any tech job where I can be involved in technology while also being client-facing and heavy on team discussions. This led me to tech consulting, where I can work with a team while still coding and working in a functional developer role. I would also be interested in project management, product management, and any managerial role in the tech industry.
- What summer experiences have you engaged in during your time at Hopkins? How do you think they have prepared you for a career in tech industries?
- I didn’t do anything the summer after my freshman year. My sophomore summer, I worked on three different Hopkins research projects. I worked for Professor Ali Madooei in developing the Hourly application to schedule, register, and cancel office hours for students in the JHU Computer Science department. I performed API development using PostgreSQL, Express.js and Node.js. I also worked on dashboard front-end and backend development for a Baltimore nonprofit food bank, BMore Community Food. I created a platform to help BMore Community Food manage a growing amount of food imports/exports. I developed a relational database and API to support BMore Community Food’s needs as part of the backend team and built the database using PostgreSQL and API using Express.js and Node.js. Finally, I was an undergraduate research assistant under Tony Dahbura and Joe Carrigan. I analyzed an over 500-response survey, collaborating with Dr. Anton Dahbura and Joe Carrigan to confirm overestimation of computer skills and cybersecurity knowledge among Maryland residents. I presented the report at the CyberMaryland 2023 Conference; report formed the basis for a Maryland bill requesting a ‘Scam Awareness Pilot Program.’ I utilized Python and Jupyter Notebook for data analysis and contributed to cybersecurity initiatives with real-world legislative impact. After my junior year of College, I interned as a Business Technology Solutions Summer Scholar at Deloitte in GPS (Government and Public Services) Consulting out of Rosslyn/Arlington, VA. While I didn’t work at all with technology this summer (because of the project I was assigned to), I took a coding assessment and was able to accept a full-time offer as a Solutions Engineer Analyst at Deloitte starting Summer 2025.
- As you started gaining more experience in tech, what is something that most surprised you about the industry?
- That a lot of the coding and tech skills in general you learn on the fly. Every project, boss, and job are different. Each project may use different languages or different platforms, each boss may have different standards or expectations in your code, and each job may focus on a totally different industry. You don’t need to know it all your freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior year of college.
- Also, a lot of coding languages are very intuitive. If you know one, you can learn another.
- If you could travel to your first day at Hopkins and give yourself one piece of advice on navigating the tech industry, what would it be and why?
- You don’t have to be a software engineer!! That’s not the only job for computer science majors coming out of college. I always thought (and sometimes still think) that the only valid and ‘correct’ job to do as a computer science major is software engineering. I thought that if I wasn’t a software engineer, I wouldn’t be a ‘successful’ computer science major. However, that’s CLEARLY not true. I was always hesitant to start a career in software engineering because I knew that I didn’t want to do that. I wanted to code a little less and discuss a little more. Being in a more managerial or functional role was a great solution.
- Who are some individuals who have served as mentors for you in your navigation of the tech industry? How did you identify them and how have you worked to maintain those relationships?
- Tony Dahbura took a chance on me when I cold emailed him to find research at Hopkins. He is focused on helping as many students as possible find research opportunities in areas they are interested in while at Hopkins. Through him I was also able to present my research at CyberMaryland, an annual cybersecurity conference at UMD.
- I met Ashlely Duque Kienzle through the Intersession Trek. We met a few times after the trek for career and internship advice. She helped guide me towards what I was most interested in and allowed me to brainstorm with her. She is so amazing and nice!
- I have CA’d for Professor Gagan Garg for the past three semesters. He has been amazing in helping me grow and learn so much. He is awesome and funny and has been encouraging me to jump for every opportunity that comes my way. He teaches Intro Algorithms and Mathematical Foundations for Computer Science.
- I personally have loved networking with a ton of people but tend to only stay connected with a few and those that I know I would enjoy talking with more. My plan, especially with all the connections I made at my summer internship, is to email monthly and give updates on how my year is going. If I have any questions for them specifically, I will ask, but otherwise I will stay in contact monthly and make sure to reach out when I am back again next year. I don’t think your connections/network want to stay in touch very frequently and would just love you to reach out to them whenever you are in town for coffee/lunch or something similar. This is true for my connections at least. I also hold the view that if anyone I have ever met/connected with reaches out to me at any point in the future I would love to hear from them no matter how long it’s been. I hope that my connections (and the ones that are particularly good) will stay the same.
- (Optional) What else would you like to share with students interested in navigating the tech industry?
- It will all work out. Take advantage of the resources given to you. I was able to interview for my summer internship in person at the Life Design Lab and honestly think I wouldn’t have gotten the job without that. I very much believe the in-person connection makes a HUGE difference. On that note, work in a hybrid environment if you can. Say yes to events and a lot of things BUT you don’t have to say yes to everything. It’s ok to say no.
