I landed my first internship in July 2020, just as the pandemic began and right before my second year of college. Although I had an interest in programming, I had no plans to pursue a career in it. I started learning Python because ML/AI was the only thing I saw in the news, but I struggled to determine my next adventure. Eventually, I began learning Django, but I stumbled upon HTML and became intrigued. I started a web developer bootcamp on Udemy and became more interested in front-end development because I could learn and apply it immediately.
While in the boot camp, I encountered JavaScript and struggled with the DOM manipulation section. I decided to move on and come back to it later. I was then introduced to React, which I loved, but still had trouble grasping. I completed a course on React and Redux and began applying for internships on Internshala. After a month of no responses, I started building out projects like Weather, BMI, and Movie search and added them to my resume. I finally received an invitation to a company, but couldn't complete the assignment due to my inexperience in developing a complete app.
I continued applying to internships that mentioned React and finally received an invitation from Ferofly.com. This time, I left no stone unturned and completed the assignment within three hours. I even deployed it on netlfiy.com, which impressed them enough to schedule a technical interview the next day. Although I was anxious during the interview, I introduced myself and greeted Abhishek and Jatin (my interviewers). They asked me standard questions, but my anxiety got the better of me, and I struggled to answer properly. However, I turned things around when they asked me “Why should we hire you ?” by opening my best mini-project, the Weather App, and explaining my thought process and design. They were impressed by my attention to detail, pixel-perfect design and choice of colours
We then proceeded to discuss the company project that I would be assigned, if I was selected. I asked them a few questions about the team culture, and projects and then ended the interview.
After 24 hours, I received my offer letter, which made me feel ecstatic and relieved. 😃 I'm grateful for the struggles and setbacks I faced during my journey, as they taught me important lessons and helped me grow both as a programmer and as a person.