Interning at Apple Computer

Author(s): Tanya Carol

Source: US Black Engineer , SPRING 1991, Vol. 15, No. 2 (SPRING 1991), pp. 18-19
Published by: Career Communications Group

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/43876762

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 Interning at Apple
Computer

by Tanya Carol
Tanya Carol is an INROADS intern with

To help maintain their lead in

innovative personal and business fter months of arduous academic work, most students
A fter eagerly months awaieagerlt ofy awaiHit theispanir summerc theivacatirons.arduous
They dream ofsummer Engineer. academic
computers, Apple Computer hires baking beneath the summer sun, relaxing on a picnic bench, or
spending lazy afternoons doing nothing.
more than 200 summer interns each Many engineering students, however, realize that summer is the
right time to get their foot in the door, so they spend the last couple of
months of the academic year scrambling to get an internship . The lat-
year. Two engineering students ter students are the smarter ones and the ones bound to succeed,
students like Guadalupe Silva and LeRoy Jones.
discuss their summers spent Silva, a computer science major at Santa Clara University, decided
to pass up on the lazy afternoons and sunny days on the beach to intern

interning with Apple. at Apple. Instead of sleeping until noon, she rises every day at 5:30 a.m.
to tackle the 90-minute commute to her internship site in Cupertino,
Calif.

Silva chose to intern at Apple after interviewing with various

computer industry giants. One of the major factors that influenced her
decision was the high marks veteran interns gave Apple. She has also

18 US Black Engineer Spring 1991

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found that managers and employees at Apple are very helpful, which per month. Jones, a senior, makes about $2,700 per month. The pay
is key to a learning experience. goes up depending on the intern's experience and tasks.
At Apple, Silva works in the System Integration and Compatability Of course, interns have monthly expenses, too. Jones pays $325 a
(SIAC) department where she's responsible for updating the bug base. month for a boarding room, and he also has a phone bill, food ex-
Silva enters the bug base and looks for fixed bugs, which have been sent penses, and car rental fees. To assist financially, Apple pays for each
to her electronically by Apple engineers. intern's round-trip transportation, temporary hotel accommodations,
"I have to read through the bug reports to see what actions , decided and rental car until interns secure housing. The company also helps
by engineers, have to be taken for the bugs, then I print the bug report them find summer housing.
and assign them to different testers [engineers] for them to retest the Jones participates in one of many clubs and organizations at the
bugs," says Silva. company. He's a member of the Apple Black Networking Organiza-
"I really enjoy my internship here at Apple," she says. "Every- tion, an internal lobbying group.
body's really friendly and they take care of the interns." "The company is young, and the average age is mid- to upper-
Apple employs 214 summer interns in their Intern/Co-op Program, twenties," says Jones. "It's like a school. The building where I'm
and of those, 23 percent are minorities and 21 percent are women, ac- located is even called Apple Campus."
cording to Ron Jennings, college relations manager. Jones likes many aspects about Apple. He likes the staff's fero-
"We are committed to continuing to increase the diversity of cious appetite to achieve, to innovate, to create, which is part of
students in this exciting program," says Jennings. Apple's corporate culture. Another plus at Apple is a sense that you
LeRoy Jones, a computer engineering and computer science major can make a difference. The end result of your work is not hidden or
at Carnegie-Mellon University, also decided to work throughout the classified, he says. "You know exactly what's going on all the time.
summer, rather than relax at home. He not only interns at Apple, but he You really feel that you have an impact," he adds.
also takes a six-week linear algebra course at San Jose State University. "I would encourage minorities to work for Apple because of its
Jones, 21, works at Apple's Central Processing Unit/Operating location in California. It's a very color-blind society. Everybody looks
Systems Group Department where he writes internally-used software at you as a person and it manifests itself inside the workplace as well,"
that enhances the Apple software development environment. says Jones.
"The software that I'm writing takes a code and translates it into Jones, NSBE president at Carnegie-Mellon, wants to work at
formats that are readable into the read only memory (ROM) data pro- Apple after he graduates and obtain a master's in computer science.
grammer and then the software acts like an arbitrator between the host He also wants to acquire an MBA in the future.
Macintosh computer and the ROM data programmer by initiating Jones recommends calling a variety of people in the company,
communication with the data programmer and facilitating the file from managers to interns before signing up for an internship. This not
transfer into the data programmer's internal memory," says Jones. only shows interest in the prospective company, but also serves as an
At Apple, Jones enjoys the independence that comes with the job. eyewitness account about the company, he says.
For instance, although his manager outlined his summer assignment, Silva, a member of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engi-
he set his own deadlines. This teaches him how to be a self-starter and neers, also plans to work for Apple after college. She wants to get a
forces him to pace himself. master's in computer science or an MBA.
Jones says his internship at Apple is extremely challenging and "Sometimes I feel intimidated, being a minority, a female, and an
rewarding. He has learned how to write Macintosh software and how engineer," she says. "It's very hard. We have to work extra, extra hard
to use software development tools. To learn, he studied a five-volume to get things done. I feel so intimidated sometimes that I want to
series called "Inside Macintosh" and found the different parts he change my major. But I won't. I think we all have the capacity and
needed to assemble the software. capability of doing things."
"I had to learn how to design the software that has the Macintosh What does Apple Computer look for in its engineering interns?
user interface and had to learn what kind of signals the programmer "Motivated individuals who can work independently as well as in a
understood," says Jones. "I had to learn how to make it do things." team," says Jennings. He says that past experience, relevant projects
Jones thought he would breeze through the internship, but he had at school, and experience with Macintosh programming are helpful in
a lot to learn. "I never thought that there was so much about the Macin- obtaining an internship at Apple.
tosh that I didn't know," he said. Apple recruits engineers for its Intern/Co-op Programs all year,
Having fun is also part of the internship at Apple. Jones spends his says Jennings. Although 80 percent of Apple interns are selected for
spare time at the company's fitness center, at the movies or park, which summer positions, the company has numerous positions available
are all included in Apple's benefits package. throughout the school year.
The benefits offered to Apple's interns include: free use of the "If we are on campus, try to obtain an interview through your
company's fitness center, discount tickets to parks and movies, basic placement office," says Jennings. "We normally conduct a presenta-
medical insurance, paid holidays, and an employee purchasing plan. tion about a month prior to the interviews. This is a great opportunity
The purchasing plan enables interns to buy computer equipment at a to learn about Apple and make the initial contact with our hiring
discount. managers." ■
For example, Jones says he purchased an Apple Macintosh II ex, a
monitor, a keyboard, and a videocard. In total, he paid about $3,500 for Students inter
a system that would have cost him about $7,500 from a retailer - a Summer Engin
savings of $4,000. should send re
Apple also offers its interns competitive salaries. Silva earned about 20525 Mariani
$1,280 a month as a freshman. As a sophomore, she received $1,740 Cupertino, CA

US Black

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