My First Internship Experience

#webdev #programming #internship #growth

I had the opportunity to work as a Web Developer Intern at QuantArena which is an Advanced Analytics and Risk Management Company. It was an exciting journey filled with learning and growth. Now that I've completed my internship, I'd love to share my experience with you all ☺︎
Here's a rundown of how was it, what I've learned and some key takeaways that might be helpful for others.

Intro

I'm Khushi Agrawal, a second year Full-Stack Developer with a interest in exploring the world of Open Source.

How it started ?

I started my internship at the end of December, and as I step into 2025, I can see how much has changed for me. In 2024, I gained valuable insights into how things work and what I need to improve. Learning from experience and working on it is what life is all about, so here I am.
We all can agree that only making projects isn't enough to gain real world experience – we need hands on exposure to actual tech challenges. Having confidence in my abilities played a crucial role, as this internship pushed me beyond my comfort zone. Our challenge was building a secure portal that prioritized security and access permissions. We had to plan our approach carefully, figuring out the logic for each step before implementation.

How it went ?

We started making it from scratch, beginning with the UI/UX design. Then, moving towards frontend, React, Tailwind CSS and Redux were used to ensure a responsive user experience. For the backend, Nodejs and Expressjs were used to handle server-side operations. MySQL was used for database storage and AWS S3 bucket for file and image storage.

As we moved towards the testing part, each round of testing revealed new areas for improvement, making our development process iterative and refined.

Once everything was complete, we initiated deployment to allow simultaneous testing and debugging. Deployed both the frontend and backend using AWS EC2, ensuring a scalable infrastructure. AWS Route 53 was used for domain management, allowing us to configure DNS records and connect the domain via GoDaddy.

I gained valuable insights into domain deployment and security, including generating SSH keys to secure the server. I also learned how to use MySQL for industry-level data storage and explored Nginx for reverse proxy and load balancing, which optimized performance and handled incoming traffic efficiently.

Additionally, I worked on checking the status of the DNS server, troubleshooting issues and ensuring a smooth connection between the domain and the deployed services.
The deployment process was longer than expected, but it turned out to be a significant learning experience. This internship truly strengthened my understanding of full-stack development.

My Takeaways:

Ask questions – Ask questions! Ask for help when you need it. As I was the youngest one in my team and this being my first internship, I needed help in few things, like to understand how the things work in the real world ? as I was first time moving out of the "project" world. Even if you like to work independently, clarifying tasks with seniors ensures that you don't misunderstand or get stuck for too long.

Document Reading – Documentation reading might seem dull, but it's a superpower. I used to find it so dry and boring, but with time and practice, I learned to appreciate its value. With practice, you learn to skim, filter key details and find solutions faster than any tutorial or course. Embrace the boredom, my friend, and you will thank yourself later!

Real World Problem Solving –I learned to break problems into smaller parts, think logically and adjust my approach as needed. Real-world problem solving isn't about knowing everything, it's about figuring things out step by step.

Smart work – Working hard isn't enough, working smart makes all the difference. Using the right resources helped me save time and boost productivity. Instead of doing everything manually, I focused on leveraging available tools and solutions to work more efficiently.

Team Management and Relation – My team player skills helped me in leading the team as a developer and this was a unique challenge. I had to ensure everyone was on track while also learning from them. Also, communication plays a very important role and it should be clear from each end. Through this experience, I got to learn about how to effectively work with a team and manage everything.

Since you’ve made it this far, why not check out my post too? :) LinkedIn

Thank you for giving my blog a read! I'd love to hear your feedback or your own experiences.

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