How is it a Day in the Life of an IT Intern Going?
You’ve just graduated from your degree in IT and you’ve been accepted in to a graduate internship program, learning the ropes at your host company. Understandably, you might feel nervous wondering what to expect in the day-to-day routine of an IT Intern. Get your to-do lists and planners ready, we’ve got the run down on what your schedule interning across different roles in the IT Industry could look like:
1. IT Technician/Help Desk Support Intern
8:30 am: You’ve arrived at the office after breakfast, coffee in hand. Your desk is placed next to your supervisor who gives you the run down for the tasks to complete today. As an IT Technician/Help Desk Support Intern at a telecommunications company, your morning will consist of answering customer service queries.
9:00 am – 11:30 am: You’ve hopped on the online Help Desk for your company’s site. The difference you provide to clients is real-time tech support. Anything from helping customers navigate the services provided on the company site, resurrecting blue screens of death, to popping on the phone and giving more detailed instructions on how to set up a device.
1:00 – 4:30 pm: After your lunch break with your office buddies, your supervisor will provide constructive feedback on your day so far. You’ve been called to assist in overseeing fixing the office connection to the printer as it’s been slowing down gradually. You find a solution to fix the problem.
2. User Experience (UX) Design Intern
Imagine you are a UX Design Intern at a popular social media enterprise.
9:00 am – 11:00 am: UX Interns attend the team building meeting where a guest speaker is presenting. The guest speaker highlights the importance of digital accessibility in the modern world. This is one of the many opportunities for professional networking in the IT Industry.
11:30 – 12:30: Lunch time.
1:00pm – 4:30 pm: Your supervisor has organised a focus group and you are observing it take place. In the focus group, select participants will participate in an informal discussion about their experience using the social media app that your company has developed. As a UX Intern, improving the usability of technology is your goal. You take notes during the focus group while your supervisor directs the conversation.
3. Web/Software Engineer Intern (Creative Arts Industry)
9:00 am: A Collaborative start to a collaborative day in your internship program. Your team meeting begins with everyone stating their goals for the day to motivate each other. The company you are interning for is in the finishing stages of designing software and the team leaves the room feeling energised.
9:30 am – 11: 30 am: Codebase improvement time. Software Engineers are linked closely with the Development process.
1: 00 pm – 3:30 pm: After a delicious lunch in the company café, your supervisor has organised for you to observe a meeting with important visiting stakeholders to the company. Web/Software Engineers directly liaise with clients and business partners to make sure that the big picture is being seen regarding the software that your company is creating.
4. Web/Software Developer Intern
8:45 am: You arrive at the office and greet your team at the multimedia company you are interning for, then head to your work station where you write down your goals for the day. Each day you are gaining more and more independence with your skillset and are confident with your contributions.
9:00am – 12:00 pm: You spend the morning working on writing code for the software that your company is creating and submit it to your supervisor for review.
1:00 pm – 2:00pm: You get back from a lunch break with fellow interns to attend a meeting with your supervisor who is tracking your graduate internship progress. The feedback is constructive and practical. Mentorship is one of the advantages of doing an IT Internship.
2:00 pm – 4:00 pm: The last few hours of your day at work are spent on developing algorithms.
5. System Analyst Intern
Picture this: you’re interning at an education start-up company where clients have to access Learning Management Systems.
9:00 am – 11:00am: Arrive at the office. Today is a scheduled system maintenance day and the office is in busy mode. While students can’t access the LMS for the day, you’re assisting your supervisor who is busy testing the portal for potential bugs, updating the software, and scanning the antivirus software. So far, so good.
1:00pm – 3:00pm – After lunch, you begin to write up a report of the findings so far to present to your supervisor. You check off all of the lists to make sure that each step has been undertaken correctly and that no procedure has been left behind. At the end of your day, you feel the satisfaction of completing tasks with due diligence knowing that students can return to their LMS and it won’t crash halfway through a lecture.
Each day at work may present a totally unique opportunity for your career. In an IT Internship, there is the promise of exciting tasks to complete and professional skills to gain. No matter what your day as an IT Intern looks like, it is guaranteed to be productive and conducive to getting that foot in the door as in the IT Industry in Australia blooms.
