An Internship in San Francisco is Something to Write Home About Jay Fares

Jay Fares finds his internship to be a blend of valuable experience and fun

 

Every once in a while, Science interns like to keep in touch with the Faculty of Science's Manager of Internship and Career Services, Iwona Ciesielka. Below, Jay Fares shares his story of his internship in progress.

Dear Iwona,

I’m approaching the 6th month of my internship with Synarc and already I feel as though I’ve acquired enough technical skills to help me in my last year of computer science at Western. Most notably, I’ve enhanced my programming skills, learned design concepts, learned more about XML and databases, and overall, the software building process as a whole.

Everyday I am learning more about the medical industry. Synarc deals with the image analysis side of clinical trials. My job at Synarc, as part of the engineering team, is to develop Reading Applications that radiologists will use. I develop the applications for the therapeutic area of Oncology. But there is more involved than just development, I also support the applications. This involves direct interaction with radiologists to troubleshoot problems. I have dealt with some problems that were easily fixed, and others that escalate defects of the system. I am then responsible for fixing these defects and releasing the new version of the software. I have learned that this is an integral part of the software life cycle.

Although it was difficult to make the move, this internship is allowing me to meet new people and make new friends. For example, at one event at work we left during the middle of the day to watch the San Francisco Giants play at the SBC ballpark. This was my first baseball game in years, and gave me a chance to see the city. Living in downtown San Francisco definitely leaves me with a lot of options for spending my leisure time after work. For example, Union Square, Chinatown, and The Metreon are all walking distance from where I live, so I’m never bored.

So far, this internship is turning out to be a great experience. Considering the responsibilities I’ve been given at work, I don’t feel like an intern. I do the same work of a Level 2 Software Engineer, which is very rewarding for me. As a result, I’m learning many new skills and becoming more confident in my position as a Software Engineer.

I highly recommend an internship placement to any student, for it combines work experience with fun.

Jay

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