Hey there! I just landed my first internship in July through a referral, and I've wrapped up my second week. The issue is, I'm super confused about what I'm actually supposed to be doing here. The company is developing a new website that provides live stock market data via subscriptions, and my role is to make the new data provider's datasets automatically parseable using some documentation that I think is an SDK. However, I don't even know where to begin! Some friends mentioned that feeling lost is pretty common early on, but I'd really love a clearer roadmap to follow. So far, the most complex task I've tackled was figuring out where to place an API key in a Django project — and now, this feels way above my current skill level. What should I do next? I'm completely overwhelmed. Thanks for any help!
3 Answers
It's great that you want to show initiative! Engage with your team about their goals while doing some self-guided learning. I suggest diving into the API for the data provider right away. Get it set up, run some basic requests, and familiarize yourself with what it returns. That way, you'll have tangible progress to discuss with your team, and they can guide you further from there. Good luck, and remember to have fun with the challenges!
You might want to consider asking your supervisor to pair you up with a mentor. It can really help to have someone to guide you through the initial confusion. Companies can often be a bit disorganized, so see if they can help connect you with someone.
That's a good idea! I've noticed my company is a bit chaotic, especially with me working remotely. I feel like an in-office setting would have eased my transition.
Definitely reach out to your team lead or a more experienced developer. They’ll be your best bet for clarity on what you should be working on and to help answer any questions.
That’s the problem though — everyone seems so busy. Sometimes I wait a day or two for a response.
I’m currently experimenting with the API! I think that's the best approach for now. Thanks for the suggestion!