by Shivy Mannengi, a Tech, Data & Engineering intern
Welcome back to the world of career prep through the eyes of a fellow student!
As a student in McKelvey myself, I used to occasionally sit in class and wonder to myself: how do all of these coding assignments, lengthy lectures, Zybooks readings, and endless Canvas modules relate to real-life work? Now, through my professional experiences, I’ve learned that even though these classes get hard and difficult, they actually develop a unique lens for solving problems in the real world.
In my previous experience as a Product Manager, I encountered problems every single day at work. These types of fields and the ones I’ve talked about in previous blogs and podcasts always have a very technical aspect to them. From all my McKelvey classes, I noticed that even though the content and coding language was always different, the structure was similar. You learn a new language, you apply it to a project, you debug, you iterate, and you keep going. And that structure is exactly what real-world internships feel like. You get dropped into a completely new codebase or tool, you learn it on the fly, you build something with barely any context, and you figure out the broken pieces as you go. That same cycle we repeat in class, the frustration, the trial and error, the small wins, mirrors the workflow in the real world almost exactly.
After this experience, I changed my entire perspective on difficult McKelvey classes. The repetition of learning a new skill or language, applying it to a project, and then debugging throughout is the same rhythm you follow on the job. In previous blogs and podcasts, we have talked about how to land the role you want. But the recruiting journey does not end there. Once you are actually in the job, you have to find ways to be successful and make a strong impression on your team to receive a return offer. One of the biggest ways to do that is by working hard in your classes now, so you build up repetitions of that method and become a more efficient, confident problem-solver once you start your internship.
I hope that gives some perspective on how the courses translate to real life. It is not just about the content you are learning, but the repetition and structure of these classes that allow you to hit your internships on day one running. Good luck on your recruiting and academic journey!
