Insight article
Focus Eivind’s Experience As An Intern At Shearwater
1 Sep 2022
Story from Eivind, Internship in Systems EngineeringOslo - June 2022 – August 2022
Growing up I have always been unsure of what I want to do careerwise. After high school I decided to start on a bachelor’s degree in Geophysics, since I found both physics and geology interesting and geophysics seemed like a good mix of both. However, during my geophysics degree, I started programming for the first time. Solving problems using code and creating applications felt like puzzle-solving exercises which I enjoyed greatly. I enjoyed programming so much in fact, that I decided to pursue a career in informatics, and today, some years later, I am in my second year in a master’s degree in informatics after completing a bachelor’s degree in Data Science.
Although programming and data science quickly captured my interest, I still wanted to finish my degree in geophysics. I think data science and geophysics complement each other very well, and I was interested in finding a career where I could combine both fields. I was therefore quite thrilled when Shearwater offered me an internship position at their software development team, after going through their application process.
The main project for my internship was to create a graphical user interface to be used by the crew on the vessels. I was surprised by the responsibility and trust given by Shearwater. Clearly, this was not solely an opportunity for me to gain work experience, but also an opportunity for Shearwater to get value from me. Everyone knew this was a learning experience for me and showed great patience and willingness to help. This was my first time developing an application completely from scratch, and it was interesting to carry out the full process of developing a product, starting from initial designs, and ending with writing test cases, documentation, and a user guide.
For me it was very engaging that the product I was making had a real purpose and was going to help the crew on the vessels. Having this responsibility allowed me to gain insight into what is expected of me in real working conditions.
Looking back on my two and a half month internship, I think what I have enjoyed the most, except for the amazing Oslo summer weather, is the responsibility and the excellent work environment at the office. Now, after finishing my internship, Shearwater offered me a permanent position as a software engineer starting next year after completing my master’s degree. I gladly accepted their offer and look forward to meeting my coworkers again next year.
Eivvind interned at the Oslo office, June 2022 - August 2022