I've been working as an intern for almost three months, earning a stipend of ₹7,200 per month. I was originally hired to develop Android apps, but after my first month I was moved to a C#/.NET role, despite having no previous experience with either technology.
It has now been about six weeks since the switch. I've learned the basics of C# and .NET and built a few small projects. Some assignments are manageable, but others feel much more advanced, and I often struggle to understand the existing codebase.
I sometimes use AI tools to help explain unfamiliar code. That can be useful for understanding the general idea well enough to discuss it with my manager, but he often examines the implementation line by line and asks why each statement is there, what each keyword does, and what happens internally. I frequently get stuck at that level. Even when I ask for more explanations or try debugging, I can end up feeling more confused.
Is this amount of confusion normal after only six weeks of learning C#/.NET? What are effective ways to understand a real codebase instead of relying on summaries? How should I respond when my manager asks questions I cannot answer? Is it more important to be able to write working code, or to understand every line in depth? I'm genuinely trying to improve and would appreciate practical advice from people who have been beginners themselves.
3 Answers
Learning a codebase mostly comes from repeatedly going through it, reading the project documentation, tracing the execution flow, and building small experiments around unfamiliar pieces. Try creating tiny standalone modules that demonstrate one concept at a time, then compare them with the production code. You do not need to understand every line immediately, but you should gradually learn what the major components do and how data moves between them.
It is common for a company to want a working demo first and then ask detailed technical questions. If you do not know something, be honest about it and explain what you do understand, what you investigated, and how you would find the answer. Asking for a little extra time can also help. Building small versions of difficult features outside the main task is a good way to make the underlying ideas click. With practice, the code will become easier to follow, although even experienced developers occasionally encounter something unfamiliar.
Yes, feeling lost after only six weeks is completely normal, especially when you were moved into an unfamiliar technology stack. Use the debugger actively rather than only asking an AI tool for explanations. Step through the program one line at a time, inspect variables as they change, and watch which methods are called. That hands-on process usually builds a much clearer mental model than reading a high-level summary.
Thanks, that makes sense. I’ll try spending more time stepping through the code instead of depending on explanations alone.