Who would have thought that my first job would take place in my bedroom? Definitely not me. Even less did I think I would end up:
-
writing over 6000 lines of Python
-
being part of a research paper (in the progress of being published to a peer-reviewed journal! Check out the unofficial manuscript: https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1101/2021.05.04.21256134v1
But not everything was great. I also ended up:
-
sitting for very long hours
-
getting horrible headaches and super dry eyes
-
multitasking (when I really shouldnât be)
-
feeling unqualified at times
The great
I was the youngest and only co-op student hired to work at the PROOF Centre. I was also working under a UBC professor, surgeon, and PROOFâs chief data officer. So I was feeling pretty nervous the week before I started working. But as I got more familiar with the team members, I got less and less nervous. Additionally, my supervisor (PROOFâs chief data officer) made it super clear that I was here to learn. Thatâs something super important I keep reminding myself every day: youâre here to learn and mistakes are bound to happen.
I wonât lie; when everyone around you has a masterâs/PhDs and youâre just a second-year undergrad student, it can feel intimidating. But when I made a mistake or was unsure of how to do something, someone was always there to help me out. Someone was always available and willing to help me out, whether it be technical issues or more personal issues, and thatâs what made this co-op term so great.
Additionally, I got to attend a bunch of presentations put on by other PROOF members! Such presentations included topics like SHAP (SHapley Additive exPlanations)[1] and biomarker research on diseases like asthma, allergic rhinitis, and pulmonary exacerbations in cystic fibrosis (super cool stuff that I barely understood). Iâm fortunate to have the opportunity to listen to such talented individuals and have learned so much!
The not so great
My father says that he loves remote work, but I donât think I can say the same đ (maybe itâs because I havenât experienced the commute before). And being a first-time developer and intern, I wished I had done some things differently. With that being said, some not so great things I experienced include:
-
sitting for long hours
-
having the sorest and driest eyes ever
-
forgetting to eat meals
-
headaches
-
feeling alone
-
not asking enough questions
-
not being clear enough
-
working 10 hours one day and 4 hours the next
These are things Iâll be continuously working on improving in future internships to come! But I wanted to list them because as interns, we feel like we have to be perfect and not mess up, but the whole point of being an intern is making mistakes and learning from them!
Final thoughts
When I had my first call with my supervisor in January I thought to myself "wow four months". And in a blink of an eye, these 4 months have passed. Iâve made many connections, learned a lot of things, and saw the impact of the work I was doing. Iâm proud of what I was able to accomplish over the 4 months and am thankful for the PROOF Centre for having me as a first-time intern đ.