Justin Tieu- Software Engineer Intern for CHOW.com, San Francisco
This is me. My name is Justin Tieu and I am a CBS Interactive returning intern/Emma Bowen Foundation Intern/Software Engineer Intern for Chow.com in the San Francisco office.
My team is composed of software engineers, product managers, editors, a ui/ux designer, a community manager and a photographer. This was the first time I actually got to sit with my whole team compared to previous internships, where only a portion of the team was located in San Francisco.
On a normal day of work, I deal with Ruby on Rails in RubyMine. Unfortunately, I don't mean actual rubies...
Everyday, I am working with one of the several engineers on the Chow.com team on either the front-end (visual aspect) or back-end (data parsing) of the website.
Even though it would be fun to elaborating on every single contribution I did this summer, I'm going to summarize what work I actually did this summer. It would be as simple as saying conversations and Chrome Extensions.
If you want to learn about all the details for Chow's Community Conversations then you should check it out on the site! http://www.chow.com/conversations
As for the Chrome Extensions
The gif that contains a browser opening a new tab with an image of food is something I made on the side and should be released sometime soon as a Chow extension. Just stay tuned on the Chow.com!
As for the other gif, it was made for fun to chat with the other people who worked at CBS Interactive. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/gchat-gifts/gggdjjedaibaenmdknhdkdobemdejbnk
Now here comes fairly serious content. I apologize to those who have endured reading this far and to those who will read the upcoming content, because writing is not my forte.
I've been working at CBS Interactive for three consecutive summers now. My first internship here was right after my first year of university, where I had no idea how it would feel to be working as part of a corporate company and coming in knowing I would be the youngest intern made me feel afraid. My second year, I knew people while coming back and also met plenty of new people. Now my third year, it is time to say goodbye because I am about to graduate from my university, but I leave with confidence. It is not because I am no longer the youngest person in the building. It is not because I am no longer just an intern. It is because I appreciate how I am acknowledged for attempting to work on even footing with the rest of the engineers on my teams from working with ad-ops, TV.com and Chow.com. It is certain that I will not come back as an intern next summer so tomorrow is the end of this chapter of my story, and a new one begins. I will admit that it has been fun working here. Every single floor contains more than one team, and each team has its own atmosphere, which is its own fun to experience. In the end, CBS Interactive is just one large friendly friendly community, which makes me enjoy dreadful Monday mornings.
For future interns, I would give the following advice:
It doesn't matter if it's the barista, security, a stranger in the <br/> room, or a stranger in a lounge within the building. It is nice to meet new people, learn names, gain new perspectives, feel more comfortable within your own work environment. Work is never just work. Even though it is important about what you do and how you do your work, it is also important to know people, talk to people, simply reaching out so that they can reach out back to you. I also mean reach out to other teams if you want to get to know other positions and how the other brands are doing. It's nice to know what people do so that you are not secluded in your own bubble while you are at your internship.
Tip the baristas at the end of your internship.
I think this would be a fun thing for interns in the San Francisco to do (or any other employees if they feel like it). Every day you want to get a drink in the <br/> room, save at least a dollar for tip. If you have a piggy bank or a box, put it there. Why? When you finish your internship, take out your piggy bank you used to store that money all summer and give that tip at the end of the internship. I feel like they would appreciate it. I'm planning to give the tip I saved up a month ago when I had the idea to do this.
Say good morning and good bye to security/baristas
I almost feel like this should be something a person does instinctively, but I'll assume the average person at work does not do it. Again, this is San Francisco specific for the baristas, but I am pretty sure all the CBSi offices have security. Some of the baristas get in between 6-7 AM. I feel like it's considerate to say something as kind as good morning to them and ask them how've they been. The same applies to security because they are here all day watching out for us to make sure everything is okay. Maybe a thank you sometimes would be nice, but I just think it's nice to appreciate those who do a lot for the company even though they do not work under a specific brand.
Now this is the end of the post, and about to be the end of my internship. It's been an unforgettable experience. Thank you to HR, security, the baristas in the San Francisco office, Chow.com team, TV.com team, ad-ops team and everyone else I have met at CBS Interactive during my last three summers here.