The Internship Experience: Sai Krishna Kodali, MS-MIS Candidate 2014, Facebook

Sai Krishna Kodali

Full-time MS-MIS Candidate 2014

Field of Work:  Information Technology

Undergraduate Degree: Chemical Engineering

Undergraduate School:  Indian Institute of Technology at Kanpur

Career Goal:  Build technology solutions that will make people’s life easier

How did you find your internship?

I used LinkedIn to search and apply for summer internships. I found a job posting for a Software Engineering internship at Facebook that took me to Facebook’s career page, which had many other openings. I found that the Data Engineer Intern position better suited my interests and applied to it.

Did you receive any help from the Business Career Center in finding your internship?

The career center organized, “Resume Making,” workshops that were very helpful. They also highlighted the importance to start looking for an internship very early which definitely helped me land this internship.

Did you have multiple internship offers?

I had another offer from Razorfish Inc. for a Software Developer internship position.

What factor(s) did you consider when choosing to accept your internship offer?

The fact that it is FACEBOOK!!!

At UIC, I’m pursuing a line of study that’s heavily oriented towards my area of interest: Data Analytics. The data engineering position needs a unique blend of skills: programming, data modeling, data analytics, and an understanding of business needs. The most challenging part, of course, is to make techniques and processes that work on normal data work with Facebook scale data.

What are your responsibilities at your internship?

My responsibilities include identifying and building datasets that will help other teams understand customer behavior better.

What do you like most about your internship?

The thing I like most about this internship is the culture at Facebook.

The three most important values at Facebook are:

Move Fast
Be Open
Nothing at Facebook is someone else’s problem.

The company’s policies are built in a way that is in line with these values.  The focus is on building projects that make an impact.

What has been the most valuable lesson you’ve learned at your internship, thus far?

I love being surrounded by people from around the world who are extremely motivated, pursuing ideas and ways to improve themselves.  This helped me realize how much more I can do for myself to grow as an individual.

Do you have a mentor at your internship? If you do, what has been the most valuable piece of advice you’ve received?

Yes, I have a mentor. The most valuable advice that I received from my mentor was regarding the way I work. He told me to forget that I was an intern and be bold in my work. If you find something (anything) that is broken, fix it. If you think something here can be improved, improve it. If you don’t know where to start, ask someone. I think it is great advice and will help you not just at work but also in everyday life.