I’m an intern at technovated a web based company situated in London and Johannesburg. I’ve been working there for just over four months now. I’ve learned a lot over the last four months and still learning more as I go but I feel I need to put in more time for me to reach my expected goals at a certain age . The company is building me as I see myself becoming more knowledgeable and experienced at what is going on in the open source industry coming from a Microsoft background. I’m currently running a Linux operating system which i switched to shortly after joining the technovated team and I’m getting more and more familiar with the system now compared to what I was two months back. Through the mistakes I’ve made in the months working I’ve learned a lot from and see myself at a much better position in terms of how much I now know and how well and fast i’ll get things done.
I would say my knowledge and understanding of building open source products is mainly based on my Java skills. I find it much easier to relate to open source syntax after my experience with Java.
The company is a great company a small one in South Africa and that is a perfect starting position for a junior with little experience that I have because it forces me to do my best and leaves no room to hide which is good for my learning experience to be able to participate in almost everything that goes on and ask questions where I don’t understand enabling me to grow at a much higher rate then what i would in a huge company. I see myself growing and using this opportunity to the best of my ability and to make sure that the company and i get something out of me bieng here, firstly me gaining enough knowledge to be able to stand on my own two feet in this industry and secondly having the honor of serving the company using the knowledge and experience that im acquiring and become an income towards the company.
I have had my ups and downs in the past but I have a mentor who is there when I need a soft push in the right direction and when I need a rough tap to pull me back into shape and focus. I would have to say one of the things that has been holding me back is my lack of “attention to details” which I mostly didn’t pick up and when picked up by some one else at a later stage kind of slowly killed my self confidence because my work is being looked at by some one else and they are not pleased by it not to say that I do things to please other people but as a reflection of my work looks very bad on me and ultimately the company.
I see myself in five years in a position that will reflect on my hard work and dedication that i’m putting in now. And yes there may be problems and misunderstanding at times between colleague’s but those are things people work on together to build a strong team to be able to be productive positively with everyone feeling comfortable and welcomed in a work environment
So to sum up everything all in all “you reap what you sow” so in order for me to reap my goals and dreams i have to “sow” good seeds and nurture them to become what i expect of myself in future.
Junior web ninja 