We've moved! Visit
The Keyword
for all the latest stories about
life at Google
and our
student programs
.
Student Blog
Brought to you from your @GoogleStudents friends. From pre-university to PhD (and beyond), we got you.
Making an Impact as a Corporate Operations Engineering intern
July 17, 2013
As part of our “Making an Impact” series, today we’re featuring Alec Nilson, an intern with the Corporate Operations Engineering team in Dublin. Alec is a student at Dakota State University working towards a double bachelors in Information Assurance and Network Administration.
Tell us about your internship thus far. What’s a typical day like?
As a Corporate Operations Engineer, there’s no such thing as a typical day. Each day presents new challenges as we focus on a few different areas. For example, we are the main onsite tech support for Googlers and also work on a wide variety of IT based internal projects. I’m also working on writing and reorganizing the internal troubleshooting documentation for our video conferencing system used by all our technicians, worldwide.
What’s your favorite thing about interning at Google?
Easy, it is the food! On a more serious note, I like being surrounded by such smart people. It’s a great environment to ask questions, learn and be inspired. Sometimes at dinner, we have great discussions that result in figuring out a better way to solve a certain problem.
How is Dublin?
Dublin is an awesome city and Ireland has a lot to offer if you're willing to get out of the office and explore. Traveling is also very cheap, you can get a bus from one side of the country to the other for 17 euros!
While the Google Dublin office is large, it still feels small because of how the campus is organized. All the engineers are in one building and you get a real sense of community. We participate in a lot of fun activities outside of work. Recently, my team went to the movies together at a local theater followed by a night out on the town.
It feels like a family here: your team is your immediate family, your boss is like a parent and your coworkers are your older brother and sisters. The other teams are the crazy cousins!
What skills have you gained since you started working at Google?
While being here I have learned how to program in Python and work with a lot of internal systems dealing with web apps and programming. My programming skills have improved and I have a decent enough knowledge that I was even able to help a coworker. I have also learned about dealing with processes effectively within a large company. Outside of work, I now know a thing or two about Irish culture.
Do you have any advice for someone considering applying for an internship?
Go for it! It’s one of those things that you’ll never know until you try. Welcome the application experience with a positive attitude and have fun with your interview. Make sure your resume is current. You should be able to discuss everything on your resume in great detail. During your interview, you’ll be asked questions that will require you to answer in great detail, so be prepared.
Once you are here, Googlers will teach you more than you can imagine! Really, don’t be afraid to apply. Follow your dreams and with enough passion, they will come.
What are your plans when your internship is over?
After my internship, I would like to continue working for Google in some capacity. I'm most interested in opportunities within Hardware Operations or Network Operations. There is a data center close to my home in Nebraska so we'll see....
I’ve really enjoyed my internship and want to thank Google for the incredible experience.
So far the internship has been an awesome time!
If you're interested in exploring technical internships in Europe, Middle East & Africa, keep an eye out on our
Google Students job site
.
Posted by Frida Borjesson, College Recruiting Specialist
Labels
A Day in the Life of a New Grad in Google Dublin
7
AdCamp
2
AdMob
11
Ambassador Program
14
APAC
7
Appy Trails
28
Back to School
4
Better Know a New Grad
1
Better Know an Intern
15
Better Know an Office
4
Black History Month
10
Caitlin Talks to an Engineer
9
Chrome Extensions
3
Chromebook
1
College Tips by Google
1
Community
14
Conferences
16
consortium
1
CSSI
5
Day in the Life
2
deSTEMber
1
Development Programs
1
Diary of a Business Associate Intern
1
Diary of a Summer Intern
41
Diary of a Summer Intern - Erika
9
Diary of a Summer Intern - Franklin
3
Diary of a Summer Intern - Jess
3
Diary of a Summer intern - Luke
3
Diary of a Summer Intern - Madelaine
4
Diary of a Summer Intern - Pablo
3
Diary of a Summer Intern - Rio
4
Diary of a Summer Intern 2012
18
Diary of an MBA Intern
2
Education
19
EMEA
47
Europe
8
Events
13
Exploring Design at Google
4
GHC15
6
Going Green
6
Gone Google
2
Google Code University
1
Google Code-in
1
Google Games
3
Google Japan
1
Google Lime Scholarship
1
Google on campus
2
Google Online Marketing Challenge
10
Google Science Fair
2
Google.org
1
Google+
6
Googlers
14
Googlers Beta
11
Grace Hopper
11
GradTips
9
Hangouts On Air
21
Inside ITRP
6
Intern Insights
31
Intern Program
72
Interns Making an Impact
7
Interviews
1
Jobs
5
just for fun
30
K-12 (Pre-university)
14
LATAM
3
Life at Google
17
Middle East
1
My Path to Google
45
My Summer at Google
15
My Summer at Google 2012
10
North America
4
Office Environment
4
Open Source
9
PhD
7
Products
94
Programs and Competitions
116
Recruiter Tips and Tricks
15
Rice Plus
4
Scholarships
56
Search
1
STEM
2
STEP
1
Student Tips
15
Students
13
Summer of Code
1
Teach Parents Tech
10
Tech Students
3
Tips and Tricks
27
Women in Engineering
21
Young Innovators
10
YouTube
3
Archive
2020
Jul
May
Mar
Feb
Jan
2019
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2018
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2017
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2016
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2015
Dec
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2014
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2013
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2012
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2011
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2010
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2009
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Aug
Jul
Jun
May
Apr
Mar
Feb
Jan
2008
Dec
Nov
Oct
Sep
Feed
Follow @GoogleStudents
Interested in opportunities and programs for students? Visit
google.com/students
.
