A 'remote' paid internship. Is it viable?

Hello fellow campers,

I just got accepted into a paid internship program in a remote-first startup that has been founded 6 months ago, and it happens that i am the first trainee in the company’s (brief) history. So my brain has been slamming me with questions left and right that boil down to this :

  1. Is a remote environment a viable way for a trainee to get real world experience ?

  2. If the answer to the first question is positive, and taking into account that I will be their first trainee, What should I look for / do / propose to get the most of this ?

  3. Should I be looking for specific things in my contract as a trainee ? (health coverage comes to mind)

If my role has any importance in the decision, I will be working in a front-end leaning position using either react native or ember (depending on wether I get assigned in a web or mobile project), as well as help streamlining the development process

I should also note that I have no experience using these 2 technologies, having just started learning react.

PS: If some of my fellow campers want to know the specifics (the how) of getting the job (what I did, what I mentioned in the interviews, the process etc…), as well as what I think got me the job (I didn’t post for jobs, but took the alternate way of getting myself out there networking with devs) I will create a new post covering just that

Thank you.

  1. I think that being remote can present challenges, especially when you’re still learning the ropes. With the right support and resources though, it’s possible to have a good experience.
  2. I would ask early and often to still have frequent close contact with your fellow developers. Make sure that you are somewhere with a good internet connection when you work and make sure that you and your teammates have good quality headphones and software (such as Lync) that allows for voice, video, and sceensharing. The policy should be that this software is always running and the expectation should be that it’s taken seriously. I would probably try to find a specific mentor: your go-to person for questions who knows that part of his job is helping you and is interested in doing so.
  3. If you’re in the US, health coverage as an intern is unlikely (especially from a small startup). Paid vacation, etc is also pretty unlikely. One thing that you can request that you’re more likely to get is a pre-set evaluation time when you will be considered for a raise.
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Thank you for your reply.
The third bullet (monthly evaluation for possible raise after the first 2 months) was actually brought up by the recruiter in our last conversation, so that’s one thing i’m glad happened.

I will follow your advice and be sure to look for a mentor.

Good luck! We’ll be looking forward to the new perspectives and experience you’ll bring to our community.

And congrats on getting that job. Even if the situation doesn’t end up being the right fit for you, you’ve done it. You’re a real-live professional now!

I’d probably ask the recruiter if there is going to be a dedicated mentor like that. That way they plan for it instead of you having a P.D. Eastman moment where you’re going from person to person asking “Are you my mentor?”

I will most certainly do. Hopefully this will prove to be a valuable experience

Hi there , so we’d like to hear how things went for you , update ?
Thanks