My first internship as a Data Engineer Intern at DUITIN. From not feeling confident enough to helping build a Data Warehouse from 9 production databases.
Hey, I am Joeyvito, you can call me Joey. I just wrapped up my first internship at DUITIN (Daur Ulang Ini Itu) as a Data Engineer Intern.
The fear on day one
Before the internship started, I was honestly pretty scared. I often felt like what I learned in college was not enough, and I did not have much confidence in myself.
I had never really experienced working life before, let alone dealt with the kind of problems that actually happen inside a real company. In college, when we hit a problem we could usually find the answer in the course material, on Google, or by asking a lecturer. But I kept wondering, if I ran into a real problem at work, would I actually be able to solve it?
As it turned out, the internship taught me the most through exactly those kinds of problems.
The project: 9 production databases into 1 data warehouse
One of the projects I worked on was helping build a Data Warehouse that consolidates data from 9 production databases into a single warehouse.
I also learned how to build a synchronization process in Python so data from production could flow into the warehouse on a regular schedule.
At first a lot of it was confusing. There were so many terms, systems and workflows I had never touched hands on before. But slowly I started to see how everything fit together and how the things I studied at university actually get used in the real world.
The most memorable part was not the project
But honestly, if you asked me what stood out most during the internship, it was probably not the project itself.
What I am most grateful for is meeting the seniors on the IT team, really kind people who were willing to teach me. As an intern I asked a ton of questions. Some of them were simple, and sometimes I still did not get it even after they explained. But they stayed patient and kept helping.
Especially Bang Endang.
Bang Endang was one of the people who taught me the most during the internship. I learned so much from him, both technical skills and how to approach problems when you are working on a project.
Lessons I brought home
I also learned that working as a Data Engineer is not just about writing code or SQL. You also have to:
- Understand the problem, not just jump straight to executing
- Understand the system you are working with
- Be able to find the root cause of a problem
- Be brave enough to ask when you genuinely do not understand
Having seniors who are willing to teach like that is incredibly valuable, especially when you are new and still have so much you do not know.
Thinking back on it
I walked into DUITIN doubting myself. But after the internship ended, I came to understand:
I really do still have a lot to learn, but that does not mean I am not capable.
I just need more experience.
This first internship did not turn me into a great Data Engineer overnight, but at least now I have a much clearer picture of how work actually happens and what I still need to learn.
Thank you, DUITIN
Thank you, DUITIN, for this first experience.
And to the senior teammates on the IT team, especially Bang Endang, thank you so much for teaching me, helping me and being patient with an intern who asked a lot of questions. I am bringing so much home from this and I will always remember the experience.
I also want to thank the management team, Om Agy, Tante Alena and Om Djoko, who gave me the opportunity and supported me throughout my internship at DUITIN. Without them I never would have had this experience, from start to finish.
Thanks for reading!