I'm Patrick from this thread. I agreed to having this thread published because I thought it might do good for interns out there. Not everyone works for very established tech companies, and there's inherently more risk in that. However, there's a lot of potential to learn from the experience as well.
Some things that I hope people take away form this thread:
- The dream is out there, but don't let anyone sell it to you easily. Do the research, check your facts, and be aware. However, people in Silicon Valley are generally good people, and they remember and understand what it is like to be young and not know what to do. I always will.
- Do what you think is the right thing: I would never have left my prior engagement if my would-be boss had not okayed it (we had a very long conversation at the time). This is a small world, and your word holds a lot of weight. It's probably best not to throw your word around when you can't keep your promises.
- Take a risk, once you feel you're ready for it. By venturing into the unknown, a lot could have happened to me, but I felt prepared to take on any challenges. I am under the impression that not taking a conscious, calculated risk (with positive expected value) is the biggest risk of all
> I would never have left my prior engagement if my would-be boss had not okayed it (we had a very long conversation at the time).
Once you broached the subject, did he really have any choice? At that point, he has to question whether your heart would be in it if you came to work for him, and whether you might bring down the rest of the team. At this point, you are likely getting the OK regardless of whether it is just a minor inconvenience to him or a major blow.
I think it depends on the way you broach the subject. I made sure that he knew my heart would be in whatever job I was doing, and that I would be perfectly happy to remain in New York.
But, you make a valid point. The discussion itself makes it very hard to say "no." I made serious errors in my judgement of the situation, and I wanted this post to inform people about those errors so that they don't make them as well.
I hope people (including myself) can learn both from what I did right and what I did wrong.
After reading your take on the matter, I've got to say it sounds like on the whole you had a great experience. Being able to tolerate uncertainty like you did is something a lot of people simply cannot do, and they get in the habit of avoiding it early on. It's what keep a lot of people in jobs where they are seriously underappreciated.
Also, on an entirely unrelated-to-the-industry note, young people rarely get the chance to meet and get to know (much less live with!) people significantly different from themselves. It's a very rewarding experience, and I'd expect you'll see benefits of it for decades to come. Many people today come out of college without ever having dealt on a personal basis with anyone but their peer group and a few dozen adults who were all in positions of authority over them. That's not very conducive to understanding the commonalities and compatibilities amongst all people.
As someone who interned at a YC S12 this summer, this is spot on. Patrick's summed it up, really: you can find an awesome company where you finish up not believing how much you learnt in 3 months. I did! Just think carefully about what you're getting yourself into.
I flew across from the UK for it, having never been West of Yellowstone, and by god did it pay off.
I'm Patrick from this thread. I agreed to having this thread published because I thought it might do good for interns out there. Not everyone works for very established tech companies, and there's inherently more risk in that. However, there's a lot of potential to learn from the experience as well.
Some things that I hope people take away form this thread:
- The dream is out there, but don't let anyone sell it to you easily. Do the research, check your facts, and be aware. However, people in Silicon Valley are generally good people, and they remember and understand what it is like to be young and not know what to do. I always will.
- Do what you think is the right thing: I would never have left my prior engagement if my would-be boss had not okayed it (we had a very long conversation at the time). This is a small world, and your word holds a lot of weight. It's probably best not to throw your word around when you can't keep your promises.
- Take a risk, once you feel you're ready for it. By venturing into the unknown, a lot could have happened to me, but I felt prepared to take on any challenges. I am under the impression that not taking a conscious, calculated risk (with positive expected value) is the biggest risk of all
Cheers, Patrick