After receiving an offer letter in February to work as an intern at Amazon, Yaminee Patel envisioned a summer “running around Seattle.”
Having lived in small towns and cities her entire life, Patel said she always felt like a big fish in a small pond and she was interested in discovering what size city she should live in after graduating from college.
“I feel like the vibe of Seattle would match me very well,” Patel said. “The pace of the city seems bustling and exciting, which is exactly what I wanted summer 2020 to be.”
She spent time looking for housing near her soon-to-be office and got an idea of just how big Amazon’s urban campus is. She was excited to work in the “modern, beautiful buildings.”
Instead, because of a massive shift in plans for students and workers everywhere because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Patel is on the other side of the country at her uncle’s house in Troy, Ohio, at a kitchen table that she has turned into her remote workspace. A senior studying electrical engineering at the University of Toledo, Patel is a robotics intern at Amazon focused on full scale deployment and project management.
And she’s one of 8,000 interns that Amazon has taken on this summer around the world, hosting all of them virtually for the first time. Patel is grateful that the tech giant maintained the program despite the challenges — many of her peers are without work this summer due to cuts in programs.
Citing data from the jobs site Glassdoor, CNBC reported at the end of April that internship opportunities had been cut in half in the U.S. due to the coronavirus. The information technology sector trailed only travel and tourism as the hardest hit industries.
While many companies are still welcoming a summer class of interns, they’re adjusting what it takes to ensure a fulfilling experience even though it’s not taking place in person.
Albert Kim, Amazon’s director of student programs for the Americas, called the class of interns — many of whom would have been working in Seattle — Amazon’s biggest ever. And for a company that specializes in logistics and fulfillment, the task of sending computer equipment around the world and onboarding new hires has been significant.
“Funny enough, we wanted to explore virtual internships as we continue to grow and scale,” Kim said. “This was a great forcing function for us.”
While plenty of Amazon managers are used to dealing with remote teams or co-workers here and there, the company is taking extra steps to make the intern experience as seamless as possible.
Despite not getting a physical tour of The Spheres or a seat at the giant Post-Prime Day Concert, students still gain access to vital information about the company, affinity groups, volunteer opportunities and even virtual happy hours.
Patel said that while Amazon is keeping workers engaged, she misses personal connections and the idea of exploring Seattle together.
“I really underestimated the benefits of saying good morning, nodding hello, or simply waving as I walk by a co-worker,” she said. “Those small gestures build team bonds, which makes working that much more enjoyable.”
But even though workers are spread across the country and around the world, projects they are working on virtually still have the potential to make a significant impact on work being done at Amazon.
“We don’t see that changing this year even though we’re virtual,” Kim said. “The interns are still going to have a meaningful work experience and so our focus now is to make sure that they have a good intern experience outside of just the core work.”
Not what anyone expected
Microsoft was also ready to welcome its biggest class, with more than 4,000 interns, and now virtual roles are being performed across the company.
In a blog post this spring, Kathleen Hogan, the company’s executive VP and chief people officer, said that while the experience is not what anyone expected, they’re embracing the opportunity.
Hogan stressed the need to help interns build connections and community, something that’s been a celebrated part of the Microsoft experience in the past.
Last summer, thanks to the ease of in-person relationships, interns even managed to go viral with a video production called “Microsoft the Musical” in which students sang and danced their way across the Redmond, Wash., campus.
Grateful to have the opportunity
Alec Malcolm, a Seattle native who is a rising junior at USC studying computer science and business administration, is at least in his hometown for the summer, but his software engineering internship at Tableau is still virtual.
Over 12 weeks, Malcolm will be working on Tableau Prep Builder at the data visualization company.
“I was super excited to have an in-person experience, so I was understandably bummed,” Malcolm said. “But, at the same time, I was really grateful to still have the opportunity to participate in an internship program and was determined to make the most of the situation.”
Along with his recruiter, Malcolm said three full-time employees are specifically set up to help him in various ways, with technical advice, professional advice and more. Others have reached out to connect socially, and he’s determined to not let the virtual setting get in the way of introducing himself to a broad range of co-workers.
“In a way, being virtual has forced people to reach out blindly because that’s the only way to communicate, and as a result, I’ve met a lot of co-workers who have all been extremely welcoming and supportive,” Malcolm said.
A danger of falling behind
Providing opportunities to students who are not fortunate enough to land at a company continuing its internship program this summer is the goal of Tyler Menezes, executive director at Seattle-based CodeDay, which is part of the non-profit StudentRND.
CodeLabs is CodeDay’s free, virtual summer experience for high school and college computer science students, which attracts thousands of applicants as well as mentors from tech companies such as Microsoft, Facebook, Uber, Splunk, T-Mobile, Nordstrom and elsewhere.
The virtual aspect is not new to Menezes and Kevin Wang, an advisor to various CodeDay initiatives who was the founder of the TEALS program at Microsoft, which helps high schools build and grow sustainable and diverse CS programs.
Calling the scale of the problem this year “unprecedented,” they started hearing from CodeDay alums back in March, as internships were canceled and students sought new opportunities.
CodeLabs is still accepting applications for a program that will run for the month of July. Many of those accepted are underrepresented in tech and they will get the opportunity to work on a project and take part in various panels related to technology and tech careers.
“I believe most CS graduates are in danger of falling behind,” Menezes said. “Tech moves so fast; internships are how schools keep students connected to the latest industry practice. There’s a real danger that months of struggling to switch to online learning, plus a lost summer is going to undo years of progress in education.”
