I wanted to support myself financially. A meaningful internship helped me start young.
About the Author: Bhavik Khurana is pursuing B.E. in Electronics and Communication Engineering from L.D. College of Engineering, Ahmedabad. He talks about his journey of becoming financially independent with the help of a couple of meaningful internships.
I was looking for some paid internships to gain valuable experience during my college life and to support myself financially. It is said that a friend can show you the right path once you tell him your problems. So, I was discussing my plans with one of my friends when he told me about an embedded engineer internship on Internshala. To my dismay, the application deadline for that internship was already over.
I had, however, found a good platform for finding internships. I started visiting the website regularly and within a couple of days saw that same internship with an extended deadline! I felt like I was given a second opportunity and so I filled the necessary details and applied for it. Soon, I received an email that my application had been shortlisted by the recruiter and a telephonic interview was scheduled.
Krishna Sai, the founder of Taparch Footwear Pvt. Ltd., called and asked some basic questions about my interests and future plans and also about my understanding of their product. I had done my research and answered all the questions properly. He then told me that a technical interview would be scheduled the next day and someone else will be calling. The technical interview went something like this:
Int. – What are the microcontrollers that you have worked on?
Me: I have learned 8051 and worked on ATmega2560 as I was part of the Robotics team of our college. I further explained about the specifications of these microcontrollers.
Int.: What are the projects that you have worked on?
Me: I have made various projects on Arduino using different sensors, one of which is the Height Calculator which uses ultrasonic sensor. (I specified this as the company’s product was also based on the same concept which could increase my chances of selection.)
Int: At what frequency does the ultrasonic sensor work?
Me: I don’t know this answer.
Int: Okay, So I am giving you two circuits which you have to draw and send me the pics on WhatsApp within an hour with all the necessary specification on the paper. 1) A 5v power supply with an AC input supply. 2) A stable mode of 555 IC.
Me: Sure, I will draw and send you the pics.
I completed the circuits and sent the pics to him within the time limit. After 2-3 days, I received a mail from Internshala stating that I had been hired for the internship. I was thrilled!
My internship started on 4th January 2016. After that, I started working on the product and learned the most important thing – the difference in the working approach towards a product and a project. When I joined, the startup had just been incubated. They had completed the prototyping phase and now it was time to turn the prototype into a complete product. I was assigned this task. I started with the component research work from scratch and tried my hands on PCB designing. I also researched about various advancements that could be done on the existing product, which was in the development phase. I simultaneously worked with the product designer too.
I can’t describe the feeling in mere words on seeing my first paycheque! I was finally earning and could support myself financially. After the internship got over, I decided to visit Delhi-NCR for my summer internship. I again started applying for various internships and got hired for an electronics geek internship at Banaao. It was an altogether different experience to work in a co-working space with a number of enthusiastic and brilliant minds.
After one month, I came back to Ahmedabad and resumed my college. One day, I got a call from Krishna, asking me to join Taparch again. This time I opted for a part-time internship as my college had started. I faced some difficulty in managing both internship and college in the beginning but I soon got used to it, and I’m still associated with the company. I have my college from 10:30 in the morning to 5:15 in the evening. As soon as the college gets over, I go to the office straight away. I work from 5:30 pm to around 8:30 pm which is the official closing time. However, as it is a startup there is no specified time limit – many times, I work till late night as I have a habit of staying up late. Sometimes I even bunk college lectures if any important work comes up. Also, I have the flexibility of working from home as most of my work involves research on the internet and it just requires a laptop and a good internet connection.
Another proud achievement came along recently when I got to know that I have been listed as a team member on the website of the company! And I haven’t even graduated! Now I understand why they say that a meaningful internship can change your life. Thank you Internshala and Taparch for changing my life.
Inspired by Bhavik’s journey? Apply to these electronics internships and take the first step towards your financial freedom. :)
