(Translated from English) I am Ailsa, a mathematics student at the Scottish University of St. Andrews, and just a year ago I didn’t know what I wanted to do after graduation. The courses at the university are very demanding and mathematics is a difficult subject, but I like the fact that I can really achieve something through hard work.
However, I didn’t expect that about 15% of my grades would be influenced by a computer-based project. Since I had no programming knowledge, that was a bit daunting at first. While working on the projects at the university, however, I quickly took a liking to it. I was able to use my problem-solving skills from mathematics to master even difficult tasks. After a while, a career in the technology sector even became conceivable for me. So I regularly followed the latest developments in the IT world. The more I found out about it, the more exciting the industry became for me.
Welcome to digatus!
Nevertheless, I couldn’t imagine what the everyday life of a computer scientist might look like. But fortunately, my university is well-connected and has numerous internship opportunities around the world. I took some time to find out about the possible technology companies. I came across digatus, a fascinating start-up based in Munich. I contacted Carl-Friedrich Heintz, who is responsible for the software business. I had only been able to gain a comparable experience and insight into professional life during a week’s internship in a large British company. There I was part of a large team with a strict schedule. My time at digatus was much more exciting, as I was able to choose my daily tasks myself, which meant that I never got bored.
digatus developers in exchange
I was given a very warm welcome at digatus. Carl welcomed me upon my arrival in Munich and immediately introduced me to the team. I always felt very welcome, as everyone spoke English with me throughout my stay. I noticed that every employee at digatus was working on their own projects. The two developers, Joe and Julian, explained to me the context in which their personal tasks were related to digatus’ major projects. When I saw how the developers worked independently and then coordinated with the “user experience team”, I realized how important good communication is for efficient teamwork.
What is it like to work in a start-up?
At first I was worried that my lack of experience would affect my work. However, I quickly realized that although the developers were experts in their fields, they were not expected to have perfect command of all programming languages. Due to the rapid technological progress, it is more important for Joe and Julian to be able to pick up new ideas and have a certain curiosity than pure technical training. In addition to the technical explanations, the two also explained to me a crucial concept that I had not been aware of until now: In the world of programming, there is rarely a perfect answer. It is more of a process of working and revising in order to always find the best solution for the respective point in time.
“digatus is a very friendly company and I am very grateful to the team for the many hours they have invested in me.”
Ailsa R. – Intern
It was very interesting to see the flat hierarchies in practice. As it turned out, they work very well as long as you feel comfortable and can cope in an environment full of constructive criticism. And I was lucky enough to work in a very open team. I was very impressed to see that they knew their challenges and knew how to overcome them. I liked it best when Joe and Julian explained to me the parts of their work that they were particularly proud of. They had found some amazing approaches to their tasks that I personally would never have come up with. A great way to have job satisfaction! In addition, digatus must of course keep up with the times and be informed about new technologies. Most of the time, the employees also enjoyed discussing these innovations. It felt good to immerse myself in an industry with such positive future prospects.
What I take away from the internship
Working in the technology industry has the advantage that you can often arrange your working hours flexibly. However, I noticed that everyone at digatus made an effort to have lunch together with their colleagues. The employees are like-minded, talented people, which made the conversations during the lunch break always very interesting. I noticed that the employees at digatus really believed in the company. “It’s just a way to pay the bills” was a sentence I never heard in this office, which impressed me a lot. In the office, but also outside, everyone was enthusiastic about the company and their own role in it. Every employee felt valued, which is apparently the key to a good working environment.
“”It’s just a way to pay the bills” was a sentence I never heard in this office, which impressed me a lot.”
When I came into the office on my last day, I felt like I had gained a deep insight into a career in software development: the numerous advantages and challenges and, above all, an idea of how I could fit in. To get an even better picture of digatus, I spent Friday with the IT consultants. I spoke to a consultant who was currently creating an Excel file. This seemed insignificant at first glance, but of course it was only an hour’s work in a project that lasted for months. Every project seemed like a big, complicated problem that the consultants broke down into smaller sub-problems that were easier to solve. I saw some parallels to solving mathematical problems. I also noticed that the consultants carried out every task, no matter how small, very conscientiously, as they are very proud of their work.
I am very happy that I had the opportunity to get to know a start-up better. I personally like the flexibility of a start-up very much. But more importantly, I think that everyone identifies with the company’s vision. This is an outstanding, albeit rather rare, characteristic. Joe, Julian and everyone else answered my numerous questions with a lot of patience and supported me. I think I could fit in well with the digatus team, just like anyone who is enthusiastic about technology and willing to work hard.
