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Hi

i’m looking for suggestions on how to keep an student placement busy,

basically he will be here for 12 Fridays.

From talking to him, his main interest in programming, particularly Java.

(where as, i work exclusively in a support role, and no nothing about java, and the company isn’t into programming, the course he is on is programming related, so its a bit of a miss match from HR to land him with me…but that’s another story…)

Id like to give him a java project that he can get stuck into… rather then just having him scraping old hardware etc.

any suggestions on how to use him so he gets the best out of his time here??

thanks in advance…

33 Spice ups
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I would find a process or internal problem that could be solved/automated via software. See if he can find a way to complete it in Java and just help guide him along the way. You might not be able to check the code but help him learn how to ask the right questions to the right people etc.

9 Spice ups
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Minecraft mods?

14 Spice ups
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if you have an android phone ask him to build an app that would help you with your day to day tasks. make a brief so it will give him experience with customer briefs and working out what they want from the App/project.

8 Spice ups
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that might be right up his street… :slight_smile:

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I like the android phone idea. Why not kick it off and challenge him to build say a time card service for employees to submit their time card through the phones to a VM that produces a PDF and/or excel spreadsheet for payroll.

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A minecraft based ticket system that slowly builds [thing] as you complete tickets. The tickets would generate signs with that problem in the MC world and would be destroyed as they are completed

5 Spice ups
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make him get coffee.

14 Spice ups
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8 hours of tea making / coffee responsibility will stand to him in the long run, everybody needs tea, not everyone needs java! :slight_smile:

7 Spice ups
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got any tasks yall do repetitively? processing files, pulling reports, parsing logs? have him automate some tasks. he may not be able to do it in java but its good to make him adapt to other languages as well.

5 Spice ups
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so you want to have him write an application you don’t really need so it can break later after he’s gone? I’d stick with having him doing preventative maintenance or other light duty projects. That’s what I do with my short term student help.

1 Spice up
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What software systems do you have in place already? Building a new inventory or check-in system is always a good project (even if you have no intentions of using it). Data manipulation with a solid gui is good too. If you can find a task that can be automated to help, it’s even better. Automation is always a solid go to as well.

Hope this helps.

1 Spice up
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if the app is independent and doesn’t rely on other systems then its very unlikely it will break later if it is coded well. this will obviously limit what you can get the app to do but will eliminate the issue of it breaking when something changes.

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Do you have a dummy company setup that he can use to program a “solution for a problem” this will give him free roam to play and learn without any real consequences and hey if it works then maybe you can implement it and if not then no loss. Plus it isn’t real customer data.

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Be prepared for an addiction though.

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I am actually in the position of the student. I go to a college that integrates 3 six month coops (full time internships) into a 5 year program. I just started my 3rd coop and final coop this week.

I have found the best employers and job experiences have been ones where you treat the intern just like anyone else at the company. You give them real work to do that actually makes a difference in the company. A point where the employer and the intern both learn and take away an enjoyable and knowledgeable experience is the goal.

If this intern like programming then bring him into developer meetings and allow for his input on how something could be done differently for example. At the end the intern should have a grasp on more than just the area of interest s/he is in and be able to have done something that actually mattered (IE: NO BUSY WORK).

I can rant on this all day haha. I am more than willing to provide examples and further help.

8 Spice ups
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Couldn’t disagree more, and walrusking kind of hit it right on the head. Giving him light work won’t teach him anything. Even if you don’t use it when he is gone or it breaks, fine. But at least you gave him a real task of something to do while he is there. He’ll feel accomplished, learn a few things about the real world, and most importantly have his time spent well there. He may have been placed there by people who don’t understand the different roles of IT, don’t make it worse by giving him no opportunity to learn with busy work.

2 Spice ups
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I’d recommend having him not use java at all, but scripting tasks in powershell, bash, or batch files. Just automating anything that you or someone in your dept does often enough to script.

Have him take a good look at your scripts and see if they can be improved. Have him come up with a few of his own to automate tasks, Programmers love to help other people with their code, and they love to create tools for people that they actually use.

it helps him by showing him there is another world outside of Java and will encourage him to learn on his own, THE MOST IMPORTANT ABILITY TO HAVE. It might also show you something you’ve overlooked or get an old idea for a script you never got rolling working again. I know I have about a dozen odd text files that were going to be scripts that I either ended up not needing or I ended up never having the time to finish.

The whole point of these programs is to teach kids and get a business benefit, not just have you give him dummy work or maintenance tasks, sure you can do those and have him learn while getting them done, but it is a good thing to have him/her actually contribute to your day-to-day.

7 Spice ups
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I’m just gonna go out there and say…

Why don’t you ask him what he wants to learn?

If you ask him what he wants to learn/get out of it, then you can help him achieve it. Neither of you will feel as if it is wasted time, and he will remember you/it.

But I’d also say - don’t focus on programming if it aint your thing - if you’re a helpdesk tech, teach him the basics of that, they always come in handy. Help him talk to the end user and try to get him to figure out what the problem is from what they say - they very rarely say what you need to know, and this applies to all areas of IT, and being able to decipher that is an invaluable skill.

But I’d say the best thing to do would be ask him what he wants to get out of the next 12 weeks and take it from there…?

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Not to mention that if the intern does well you can then integrate him further into the company and possibly offer him a full time position after graduation. This benefits both parties and allows the employer to have an already trained and integrated new hire so you don’t have to start from scratch.