Internship as a set-up for success
Written by Đulsa Mušinović, Team Lead at Softray Solutions
Softray invests greatly in its internship program as we know that investing in college students is the best way to help them grow business-wise and adapt them to our culture.
We are aware that the more resources a company is willing to put toward the internship program, the better it will be. The better the internship program, the more competitive it will be. And the more competitive the program, the stronger the applicant pool.
Several years ago, I started as an intern in Softray and carved my path into Team lead at one of the projects.
Investment in the education
An investment in education is an investment that brings a return throughout a person’s entire productive life. I think that both formal and non-formal education are extremely important. We create knowledge throughout our entire life. Mostly we acquire formal education while we are young (which does not have to be the rule) and non-formal education after completing formal education. Above all, by acquiring knowledge, we build competencies, and as a goal, we create value in our perception that brings us a sense of satisfaction and success. Before we start investing in our knowledge, first we must find out in which direction we want to build and improve ourselves.
I gained my formal education at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Sarajevo, Department of Computer Science, and Informatics. My interest in the computer science and informatics field had already started in elementary school during one of the IT school sections. Already then, I had a vision in which direction I want to build my career. I had the opportunity to apply and improve the knowledge, which I gained in college, during my internship at Softray Solutions company, which in one way represents my official start in the IT.
Internship program at Softray allowed me to work on a “real” project for an international market. The project I was working on had clearly defined processes and deadlines, which was really challenging for me at that time. With the support of my mentor and the whole team, I was able to quickly adapt to the team and to gain basic understanding of business logic and technology stack of the project.
After completing the internship program, Softray management noticed my potential and gave me a job opportunity. I have been a part of Softray for almost 3 years and I must mention the importance of the environment I work in. Throughout the past period, I have been surrounded by people who are always willing to help, share knowledge and people who really appreciate and respect the effort, commitment, and opinions of others, allowing me to excel in a job I enjoy and love to work.
Career path and growth and the role of the Team lead
Team lead is an upward trajectory, which required a lot of effort, work, time and investment in knowledge from both, me and colleagues who selflessly helped and shared their support. The role of the team lead has brought me more responsibilities, but also helped me to improve my problem solving and analytical skills as well as my soft skills.
The biggest challenges and obstacles
My investment in knowledge did not end with graduating from college, neither after completing an internship program nor after employment. The nature of our work requires constant learning and acquiring new skills in accordance with the development of the innovative technologies, various tools, and the processes within software development. So, I can say that I am still learning and will continue to learn and invest in my knowledge if I want to stay up to date with innovative technologies and maintain a “competitive” position in the “market”, and that is what I consider as perhaps the biggest challenge for people in our profession.
Softray as an employer
I am lucky to work in a company that provides an opportunity for its employees to grow constantly by investing in the knowledge through the provision of various courses, trainings, and education. In addition, the atmosphere in the company is quite relaxed and allows flexible work, work from home etc., which made it much easier for me to maintain a life-work balance. Something that constantly motivates me is the real support of colleagues and the timely recognition of potential, effort, and commitment by management within the company.
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